The Maidens Who Travelled The Planet
by BiJane
Summary: Starts off during the short story starring Aeris in the Lifestream, where she meets Oerba Dia Vanille. But from then on, their lives change, for what/who made them meet in the first place, and why?
1. Meeting

**This is me being odd again, and adding Vanille into an FFVII short story spinoff. **

The Lifestream.

That's what we call the river of life that circles our planet. That's where the souls of those lost go.

And still they wish to return. Some wish to go back, knowing they can't, or some wish to help.

She had long, slightly curly, brown hair, falling over her shoulders in several curled locks, over a red top and long pink skirt. Her face was soft, her eyes a striking emerald green. And she had died not so long ago; for why else would she be in the Lifestream?

There were many semblances of consciousness in the river of light, many people, echoes, ghosts if you will.

There was another woman, one not knowing how long she'd dwell there. She had bright red hair tied into two pigtails, with a lot of jewellery over a pink, flimsy top and a fur like skirt. She also had startlingly green eyes, darker and yet somehow brighter than the iridescent Lifestream.

"Hey there!" the latter of the two souls, the temporary resident, called.

"Hello" the former nodded respectfully.

"I'm Vanille, you?" she bobbed through the streams of light.

"Aeris."

The two women were briefly silent. They weren't sure what called them to speak to each other; though it was as if the Lifestream had called them together. As if it sensed they needed each other.

"What was your Focus?" Vanille asked, smiling.

"My…focus?" Aeris was mystified

"You know, l'Cie, fal'Cie…you don't know do you?"

"I came from the Forgotten City"

"Haven't heard of it" Vanille paused, "is it near Oerba?"

"Oerba?"

"Is it on Cocoon?"

"I'm truly sorry but I don't understand what you're talking about"

"Gran Pulse? L'Cie? Sanctum?" Vanille sighed. "We must be from very different places"

"Very different" Aeris echoed. "I just hope Cloud can…"

"Cloud? Who's he?" Vanille stepped closer

"A friend" Aeris blushed. "I left him behind"

"I know how you feel" Vanille's bubbly personality depleted, "I left someone behind to. Haven't seen her here yet"

"Keep trying. You've just got to keep trying, and you'll find them"

"I guess you've just got to do what you can" Vanille sighed, smiling.

"Whatever you can" Aeris nodded, speaking slowly. Whatever she could. She could help Cloud and the others, maybe not much, maybe a lot. But she could do whatever she could.

"I just…she had to do all the icky stuff, and I just watched" Vanille seemed downcast

"Do whatever you can, right?" Aeris smiled. "You never know, maybe you could cheer them up again."

Vanille smiled briefly, before her form flickered. The green currents of the Lifestream took her away, took her out of the Lifestream.

That brief meeting, that exchange of words would have consequences greater than it would seem.

She couldn't remember. Vanille was glad of that; whatever she could. She wouldn't let Fang remember. She didn't deserve that.

And Aeris took those words to heart. Whatever she could. Those three words saved the world.


	2. Silent

**This was originally a oneshot, but, thanks to Lightning Lockhart, it's now a multi-chapter fanfic. So, this chapter isn't my best-haven't written in third person for a while so I might change that for later chapters-but it sets the stage and introduces a fair few mysteries. DO NOT READ unless you've finished Final Fantasy Seven and have reached chapter 10 of Final Fantasy XIII. Contains spoilers up until those points. **

Aeris groaned, sighing a little. She felt sore all over; it was tiring to cast Holy, but helping to control the entire Lifestream? That took a lot out of you. Slowly, she opened her eyes, propping herself up, before gasping slightly.

Was this…Midgar? It looked ruined. Had she stopped Meteor in time? It didn't look as if anyone had survived.

"No…" she murmured weakly. Had Cloud survived? She needed to know. She needed an answer. Closing her eyes again, she concentrated, trying to find that voice within herself, the one that taught her oh so much more than any other.

"No…" she murmured again, feeling hollow and empty as the voice remained silent. She couldn't talk to the Planet. She felt…so alone. There'd never been a time she couldn't speak to the Planet, not even when she was a captive of ShinRa. The Planet had been the one, constant presence in her life, keeping her sane, giving her the strength she needed to do what she had to.

Getting to her feet and smoothing down her dress, Aeris looked around. There was an odd grace to the ruined surroundings. The water shone like gold, the buildings stood like the proudest temple, the sky was as clear as she'd known it, and even the rust looked somehow vibrant. The ground itself was coated in some kind of pale crystal, a sand, a dust.

Looking around, she saw odd black creatures lumbering around, moving in and out of bronzed buildings. The village looked ancient, ruined. It was in worse shape than Sector 7 after the plate fell.

Crunch.

There was the soft sound of sand being pressed underfoot. Aeris looked around, to see a group of five people walk into the crystal dust covered village. The woman at the head of the party had strange, pinkish hair, and she was followed by a fairly young silver haired boy. Behind them stood a thick set man in a white trench coat, who was followed by one more woman, with unkempt, black hair and a blue sari. Finally there was a dark skinned man, with a smallish afro growing.

"Um, hello?" Aeris waved, trying to get their attention. Maybe they could explain what had happened.

"Hey there!" the thick set man in the trench coat was the first to reply.

"Someone got to Pulse" the silver haired boy murmured. He was smiling, but Aeris could see a sadness behind his eyes.

"Pulse?" Aeris looked at the odd crowd, from person to person. Hadn't Vanille mentioned a pulse of some kind? Was this the world Vanille came from?

"Well, Gran Pulse" the pink haired leader added.

Gran Pulse. Those were Vanille's exact words.

"Do you know anyone called Vanille?" Aeris asked, trying to figure things out.

"You met Vanille?" the silver haired boy stepped forwards, nearing Aeris.

"A while ago" Aeris nodded, thinking about how much time had passed. How did you measure time in the Lifestream?

"How long ago?" the silver haired boy asked earnestly.

"Hope" the pink haired woman groaned, "Vanille's in the crystal. They probably met weeks ago"

"So? You always said not to give up" the silver haired boy, apparently named Hope, turned back to Aeris.

"I don't know when we met" Aeris sighed, feeling guilty that she couldn't give the answer he so obviously wanted. "She mentioned a focus"

"A Focus? Must've been on Cocoon" trench-coat man interjected

"What's Cocoon? Aeris asked. She remembered Vanille mentioning that too.

"Maybe they met back on Pulse?" trench-coat man revised

"Nah" the pink haired woman shook her head, "They knew what Cocoon was"

"Can you never just agree with me sis?" trench coat man laughed

"Wait a second" black afro man at the back of the crowd lifted his arms, trying to get Aeris's attention. "Are you Aeris?"

"Yep, that's me" Aeris smiled, tilting her head slightly, happy she'd been recognized but still confused.

"It had to be" afro man nodded slowly

"You know her" the silver haired Hope turned.

"Vanille mentioned her, back in Nautilus" he pointed his thumb back over his shoulder, "They met when she was in crystal stasis."

The mismatched group gasped.

"_In _crystal stasis?" the pink haired leader was the next to speak, "How can they meet when she's crystal?"

"The Lifestream" Aeris spoke up. "It connects all living things, circling the Planet"

"Well, in any case" the afro man grinned, "Welcome to Oerba."

Oerba? Hadn't Vanille mentioned that? Confused, but getting the feeling she was going to actually understand what had happened, Aeris turned. The black haired warrior woman in the blue wrap walked quickly past her, going up to the next tumbledown building. The black haired woman flashed an annoyed smile at Aeris, before walking into the wrecked house. A few seconds later, the warrior woman emerged, heaving a huge see-through block with her.

It was about the size of a person, with intricately carved details, an ornate crystal tablet.

Aeris sucked in a breath, realizing. That wasn't just a carving; the face the features the clothes… That crystal was Vanille.

Seeing it, Aeris started to sway slightly and, the image of the crystal affecting her more than she thought, she fell to the floor.

X

Vanille groaned. The last thing she remembered was a sense of euphoria that she'd only felt one other time; when she'd turned to crystal. A sense of fulfilment. It felt heavenly in crystal sleep, at peace with yourself. Which she needed, especially after her Focus…

Wait. She felt sore right now, tired, and her l'Cie brand was aching. How did that match with the happiness of crystal sleep?

She sat up quickly, looking around. She was in some kind of building, wooden planks building a tumbled down chamber, with sunlight illuminating the dusty rafters through holes in the roof. Vanille was sitting on the floor of the building, amidst a circle drawn by the cracked wooden floor, and the springy, healthy flowers growing there. They were the only colour.

Vanille stood up, stepping out of the beautiful patch of flowers. In front of her were rows and rows of dusty wooden benches. The place looked like a church.

The doors at the far end were opened, letting a muscled, vividly blue eyed man with spiky yellow hair walk in. He wore black clothes covering most of his body, with dark black gloves and a pad covering one shoulder. He had a ribbon tied around his upper arm.

For a moment, Vanille pictured him with pink hair. He looked just like…

Shaking it off, she bounded up to the newcomer. "Hello there" she grinned, bobbing around, hiding the slight fear she felt at being in this new place. Perhaps it was just a crystal dream, in which case she might as well enjoy herself.

"H-hey" the spiky haired man nodded. His voice was low, and he concealed his surprised stutter well.

"Here is this?" Vanille tilted most of the upper half of her body, trying to look at the man's face.

"Midgar" the man replied, avoiding Vanille as he walked forwards, "You're in Midgar, Sector 5."

"Where's Midgar?" she followed the man, leaning forwards with her arms flung behind her.

"On the Planet" the spiky haired man groaned,

"Gran Pulse or Cocoon?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" the man sighed, hefting a chest out from beneath a bench.

"Are we on Gran Pulse or Cocoon?" Vanille tried again.

"Depends. What are they?" the man opened the chest, revealing a collection of shining, multicoloured spheres.

"Ha, ha, very funny" Vanille rolled her eyes, crouching next to the man.

The man just shrugged, ignoring her as he peered at the shimmering spheres in his chest. Slowly, he picked one out, tossing it to his other hand before putting it down just outside the box. Frowning a little, he repeated the action, taking out a pale yellow sphere, juggling it back and forth a few times, before putting it down.

"What's your name then?" Vanille stayed crouched next to the man, swinging her arms.

"Cloud" he murmured, taking another of the jewels and nodding with a grunt as he looked at it.

"Hey Cloud" the ever-perky Vanille waved even though she was less than a metre away from Cloud. She straightened her legs as Cloud got up.

Cloud ignored her, brushing past Vanille firmly gripping the red, glimmering sphere.

"You'd get on well with Lightning" Vanille huffed, following Cloud as he leapt from rafter to rafter, ascending the church via unfinished planks of wood along the back.

A few seconds passed and in that time, Cloud had sprung across to the top of the church, standing next to a gaping hole in the breaking roof. He stood there for a moment, staring out, before he swung his hand across, cutting through the empty air, and punched outwards. The red sphere he held shone brightly, sketching a few glyphs in the air.

As the light started to fade, a blur of yellow streaked past Vanille, coming to a halt next to Cloud. Vanille started, greeted by the odd sight of a moogle wearing a headband, atop a chocobo.

"Choco/Mog" Cloud grunted, "Tell Cid we need him"

Cid? Cid Raines?

Confused, she watched the chocobo gallop across houses, presumably to 'Cid'.

Vanille took a step towards Cloud, about to ask what was going on, when a sudden pain lanced through her brand, and she stumbled, almost falling to the floor.

"Huh?" Cloud turned, not quite managing to hide his concern.

"Don't worry?" Vanille flashed a smile, wiggling her fingers to send a curing spell to her brand. Nothing. Frowning she tried again. Then a panic seized her; her magic wasn't working. She was trying, she just couldn't do any spells.

Feverishly, she lifted her fur skirt, anxious to see what had happened to her brand.

Vanille gasped.

Instead of the pattern of black arrows and the colour red seeping through the centre, the only colours on her thigh were ugly brown/grey blotches. She touched it, and felt faint, shaking a little. Her vision blacked out for a moment.

"The Stigma" Cloud cursed, taking a long, quick step towards her.

Vanille grinned a little, vision hazy, before passing out.

X

Swirling green. The comforting shades and rhythmic, mesmerizing ebb and flow of the currents. The Lifestream bathed her in its comforting light.

Aeris opened her eyes. Hadn't she just been in…Oerba, wasn't it? The world where Vanille came from. Vanille!

Aeris moved forwards a small way, drifting in the Lifestream. Vanille had turned into crystal, but how?

Shaking off the thoughts, Aeris drifted onwards through the Lifestream. She'd collapsed, and awoken here. That had to mean something; she'd come from the Forgotten City, led the Lifestream out of the Planet, and then ended up in Oerba. So how did that lead to the Lifestream?

A few green wisps away, bathing in the soothing current, Vanille opened her eyes. She was back here, then? Why? And what was the Stigma Cloud had mentioned? Was it related to the odd blotches where her brand should be?

"Vanille!" Aeris caught sight of her long lost Pulsian friend, swimming through the Lifestream to catch up to her.

"Hiya Aeris" Vanille grinned, spinning on the spot and relishing the almost aquatic nature of the Lifestream.

"Did you say you came from Oerba?" Aeris tilted her head.

"Yeah" Vanille nodded

"I think I was just there. It was…ruined"

"Sounds like Oerba alright" Vanille was smiling despite the conversation

"I'm sorry" Aeris hastily apologized

"Don't be, it's not your fault. Hey, how'd you get to Gran Pulse?"

"Gran Pulse?"

"That's where Oerba is, my world. Gran Pulse"

"I don't know" Aeris sighed, "I just wish I could get back to Midgar…"

"Midgar?" Vanille practically squeaked, "I was just in Midgar! Have we…"

"Swapped worlds?" Aeris finished. "We do seem to be connected. Have you met Cloud?"

"Of course! Spiky yellow hair, strong and silent type. Reminds me of Lightning"

"Lightning? Who is that?"

"Pink hair, glowing shoulder plate that achieves nothing?"

"Oh, her! I see what you mean" Aeris giggled slightly, "It's like they're reflections of each other"

"You got it" a rough, gravelly voice exclaimed.

The two connected souls, Aeris and Vanille turned, to see a man with short cut, spiky silver hair, a thick, darker grey moustache, the same shade as his bushy, dark grey eyebrows. He was wearing an odd array of clothes, purple trousers and purple shoulder pads, with a khaki utility belt. A red plate covered most of his front. The stranger had two, black metal wristbands.

"Who are you?" Aeris asked respectfully.

"Yah, m`name's my business, you'd recognize it anyhow. I'm the ever-present man. Countless worlds and I'm one of the few who remembers a life in each one, well, sometimes. I forget when I'm born and remember when I die. Sorry by the way Vanille, I had no choice"

Aeris and Vanille exchanged odd looks.

"I think this guy died actually" the ever-present man looked down over his body, "Pity. I liked him. Well, still managed to get back at Mateus. Twice. Ahem" the man looked up, frowning.

"Aeris" the man looked at her for a second, before quickly turning away. "We missed you."

"Can you actually help us?" Vanille bent forwards, peering at the man.

"Help you?" the man chortled, "I am helping you. I'm the reason you turned to crystal, Vanille. We needed someone to swap with Aeris, and you two have already met, so you were ideal. Aeris needs to go to Gran Pulse"

"I do?" Aeris frowned, without the slightest idea what the eccentric ever-present man meant.

"Figure it out yourself" the man chortled again, "I'm not even meant to be here. Gods, Minwu would have my head if he knew I'd escaped A-" he stopped abruptly, looking around.

"You've got to go" the ever-present man deduced from the lifestream's current. "Pity, would've preferred to catch up with you Aeris. But I guess, the last Cetra has enough on her plate? See you later, and don't forget who you are"

With that last remark, the ever-present man dissolved, washed away by the flowing Lifestream.

The Lifestream swelled, iridescent currents brightening as it rolled onwards, the slow, graceful melody of colour reaching a crescendo.

Vanille felt the blotches on her thigh ache, but she shook it off, staring at Aeris as the Lifestream began to separate. Aeris stared back, feeling slightly angry, though she hid it well, and alone. She was being sent back to the silent world. The Planet that would not talk. She didn't want to hurt Vanille's feelings, so she hadn't mentioned, but truth be told she hated Gran Pulse. The Planet she knew spoke to her; a constant, warm, inviting presence. But this 'Gran Pulse', it was harsh, forbidding. Silent.

Mere seconds had passed before Aeris awoke, eyes opening to look around at Oerba, and to look at the crystallized Vanille, new understanding in her eyes. The ever-present man had done that? Who was he, and why did he seem so familiar?

Vanille woke up a few minutes later. She'd been brought into a pale white room by some body, and the blotches on her thigh were perpetually aching. The Stigma, Cloud had called them. Why?

Neither of them were sure of anything, but one thing they did know; they would find out why they'd changed worlds, find out who the ever-present man was, and they would fix whatever the man had said needed to be fixed.

**Note on timescale: **

**Final Fantasy VII: The game has just ended, but it's set before Advent Children.  
****Final Fantasy XIII: The party have just left the Fifth Ark.**


	3. Dying

**More plot development, some explanations, but mainly plot development. Rating increased because of Cid Highwind's foul mouth. **

Vanille sat up, propping the pillows to give her something soft to lean on, countering the pain where her brand should be. She felt, well, she wasn't sure how she felt. This room, wherever it was, was nothing if not comfortable, but the blotches on her thigh, the Stigma, were constantly aching, sending pain lancing through her whenever something touched them. She lifted her leg, peering at the once-brand. As before, they looked like an ugly pattern of bruises, and they felt a bit like a bruise, especially when something touched them. It looked like her skin was decaying.

"GeoStigma" a low voice from the edge of the room announced. "There's no cure"

"Cloud?" Vanille looked up at the spiky haired man, "What causes it?"

"We don't know. Ever since Meteorfall it's been spreading"

"Meteorfall?"

"If you don't know that then there's not much I can do to help" Cloud shrugged. Vanille saw him turn away from her in the dim half light. He started to walk out the door, but was blocked by a slim figure Vanille couldn't quite make out.

"Always you, you, you" the woman sighed, "You can trust us, you know"

"Tifa" Cloud sighed, "She doesn't know what Meteorfall is"

"Then tell her" Tifa stepped forwards, pushing Cloud back. As she passed through the light, Vanille caught sight of long, long, smooth brown hair along a pale, slim frame.

Cloud rolled his eyes, sitting next to the curled up Vanille on the bed.

"Well?" Vanille flung herself forwards, now sitting on the edge of the bed and peering dangerously close to Cloud.

"Meteorfall" Cloud sighed, shooting a tired look at Tifa, "Over a year ago, meteor was summoned to destroy the world, but Holy was cast to counter it, and Aeris saved us. Done" he moved to get up as Vanille squeaked:

"Aeris?"

Tifa looked at her strangely.

"I met her" Vanille bounced, "She's nice."

"You met her?" Cloud span around suddenly, "Where? How?"

"I-in the" Vanille paused, trying to remember what Aeris called the place, "Lifestream" she finished.

"You were in the Lifestream?" Tifa frowned, "What about Mako poisoning?"

"Mako?" Vanille frowned, "Never heard of it. Don't think I was actually in the Lifestream anyway: I was just there, when I was asleep"

"Did she say anything?" Tifa sat down the side of Vanille opposite to Cloud.

"Didn't get much of a chance, but she's in my world and I'm in hers. She has to do something in my world, so I was swapped with her."

Tifa looked like she was about to say something, but before she could a phone started to ring in the distance. Rolling her eyes, she left the room. There was a click and the ringing stopped.

"You saw Aeris?" Cloud looked sideways at Vanille

"Yep! Haven't we settled that yet?"

"Did she…no" Cloud looked down, away. "She wouldn't have"

"Hey, Cloud!" Tifa's voice came from outside the room, "It's Cid. He's on the outskirts of Edge, with his airship. Says he's bought a phone so you don't have to set that, his words, damn chocobo on him. He says to see him, and Vanille can come too"

"Right" Cloud replied. He wasn't speaking particularly loudly, but his voice carried.

Vanille moved to get up, straightening the fur around her waist when Cloud, already standing, eased her back onto the bed.

"Huh?" she tilted her head

"Give it a minute or two. I didn't take you here just so you could leave: you get used to the Stigma in a few hours after first being infected. Doesn't seem like you got that far yet, so wait here. We'll be back anyway, first we have to plot a course with Cid" the spiky haired Cloud left the room, and shut the door soundly behind him.

Well, at least she'd get a chance to see some of the world. Airship, did he say? She wondered where they'd go. How big was this world anyway? What were its fal'Cie like, did they even have fal'Cie?

Sighing, Vanille leant back. Cloud was right; the steady, thumping ache of her Stigma was starting to subside, though it was still tender to touch. She sat up, lifting a pelt around her waist to look at the brownish blotches, and gasped. It was spreading. Before it had just been a discolouration of her brand, a little patchy around the edges. Now, now it was like ink of paper, trickling and spreading. Staining.

"Don't be surprised" a deep, almost unintentionally husky, voice spoke from the shadows at the edges of the room.

Vanille looked up, gazing at the walls. There was a torn red cloak hung up on one, but outside that, nothing.

"The Stigma's part of the Planet's immune system. It attacks alien matter, and if your tale about a different world is true, you're a prime target."

"Who are you?" Vanille said squeakily, looking around.

The red cloak hung up on a wall shifted slightly, before it fell down a few centimetres. It moved forwards, towards Vanille who drew back, before it stopped and shook. It revealed a man in a deep crimson cloak, kept on by deep black buckles. He had smooth, black leather wrapped around each leg, descending to sharp pointed golden shoes. On one hand he had yet more deep black leather, in the form of a glove, the hand resting on a gun holster. His other hand was outfitted in a gold, claw-like gauntlet. His hair descended to his shoulders, but was kept away from his face by a dark red bandanna over his forehead. His skin was eerily pale. The back edges of his cloak were ripped, frayed.

"Who are you?" Vanille tilted her head, trying to sound cuter than her last, suspicious speech.

"Vincent" the man replied, "Vincent Valentine."

"How'd you get in?"

"Through the window. Now, you gonna let me speak?" he seemed irate on the surface, and yet his tone betrayed no irritation.

"Sure" Vanille smiled, satisfied, leaning back.

"You come from Gran Pulse, right?" Vincent gave a small, slightly smug smile.

X

"So" trench coat man, apparently named Snow, surmised from Aeris's earlier speech, "You think we've got to do something, but you don't know what"

"Yes" Aeris nodded

"So you want to ask the planet?"

Aeris nodded again.

"But the planet won't talk to you, so you want to go somewhere where it will speak?"

"Exactly"

"And that place is _Cocoon_?" Snow seemed amazed.

"Yes" Aeris nodded. "This world is silent, so maybe that one will talk"

"Cocoon is artificial" the pink haired Lightning interjected, ducking under the doorway to enter the room in the Oerba house.

"Who created it?"

"The fal'Cie" Lightning replied, dismissive, sitting on a worn cushion.

"Well, maybe they made it alive. Perhaps they make up the Planet's spirit" Aeris guessed.

She didn't really believe it herself, she just knew that she couldn't face being abandoned by the Planet, so she made up a fantasy of being able to speak to the one on Cocoon. But really, she doubted it. Maybe she could, so she might as well find out, or maybe these worlds were lifeless. Gran Pulse did look like it was dying; it was subtle, but she could see the difference, comparing it to her Planet. The flower petals curled prematurely, some died faster than they should. The grass wasn't springy, it was like paper, at least, the little she'd seen around Oerba was. But then there was the soil; it was dry, sandy and, while that could be unique to Oerba, she doubted it. The Planet just felt…wrong.

"Come on sis" Snow thumped Lightning on the back. She turned around, glaring. "We don't have a clue what we're doing, and we don't know what it'll achieve. Just like being a l'Cie generally" Snow shrugged.

Lightning rolled her eyes, getting up and leaving the Oerba house. Sighing, Snow got up and followed her, smiling apologetically at Aeris.

Alone now, Aeris closed her eyes and interlocked her fingers in front of her. It was a kind of prayer she'd done whenever she wanted to calm down and while she normally spoke to the Planet, now she was meditating in solitude. Silence.

With nothing distracting her, she could hear the whispers of Gran Pulse. The crystal dust in Oerba was rustling, each speck constantly, imperceptibly shaking. The waters looked calm but were again rippling unnoticeably. Aeris could hear all these noises and, in the distance, she could hear blades of grass rustling in a lost breeze.

And, as she drifted deeper into the waking sleep, she could hear one more noise. Breathing in, breathing out, normal respirations on a cosmic, spiritual scale. Taking in air, before exhaling it, the constant cycle. The circle of life.

But… Aeris listened to the breaths. A long inhalation, air and nutrients taken in, before the same minerals were expelled. But not too many.

She was listening to the rhythm of life on Gran Pulse, the steady tingling as life continued, spirit energy of dying creatures circling this world, even if it was silent. This world may not be living, but the Lifestream still circled it, the spirits entering it, before being recreated elsewhere. The circle of the Lifestream.

But, as a Cetra, Aeris could hear it. The unconscious world was taking in more spirit energy than it was releasing.

Slowly, but surely, Gran Pulse was dying. Soon, nothing could be born. There would be no spirit energy being released from the planet, no life force to give life to anyone.

Then, there would be no more born, and no more to live.

She could see it already; even the few plants were withering prematurely.

Was that why she'd been summoned here? To help regulate the Lifestream, to keep the circle of life spinning on? If so, she didn't know what to do.

A soft hissing began behind her, drawing her out of her reverie. Aeris turned, to see a small brown insect on a shelf. It was a dark brown, spherical beetle, with a pale, dome like, rounded face making up the upper hemisphere of its body. On this hemisphere, it had two darker brown circles with strips of narrow eyes visible. For some odd reason, it was wearing what seemed to be a miniature cape, and had a white moustache growing from the bottom of its head to having a point above the top of his head, both sides, like a crescent.

Aeris leapt back, out of her calming meditation, and threw a scrap of machinery at the creature.

"Easy now" it hissed. Aeris did a double take. "No one ever likes this form" it murmured, "Don't blame me for it, blame Hilda"

"Who…who are you?" Aeris knelt down, reaching a hand out for the odd creature to hop towards her.

"You can't recognized me?" the insect gave an odd, clicking laugh as it hopped onto Aeris's palm. "I'm the ever-present man, of course. Remember: different forms in every world"

"This is how you look here?" Aeris tilted her head, puzzled

"Nah, I nicked this from a different incarnation. It was this or a frog. I needed to ask though, you figured out what you're doing?"

"I think so" Aeris nodded, almost sure of herself. "Is it something to do with Gran Pulse withholding the Lifestream?"

"Exactly, you-" the ever-present man/beetle paused, looking up for a moment before cursing. "Can't tell you, sorry. I made myself present in every world long ago, with help from the Lufenians, by bargaining with the gods themselves. Had to accept some limitations though. I can't interfere unless it's something I'd know in that specific world. It's why I like the Lifestream: it connects everything"

"You know that Gran Pulse is dying?" Aeris frowned

"Easy with the right friends. Two heads are better than one, well, a heck of a lot more than two in his case. He was there when it started"

"Who is it?"

"A fal'Cie. Light will know him. Well, she'll know 'it' I suppose. Now if you don't mind, I've got a Garden to fly" the beetle thing hopped off of Aeris's arm, starting to move out the door. It was enveloped in a pale green haze, like the Lifestream.

Gripped by a sudden panic, Aeris took one step towards the creature and grabbed its cloak, pinching the fabric and pulling it out of the portal it was creating.

"What is it this time?" the ever-present man/beetle sighed.

"What garden do you mean?" Aeris asked, kneeling near the oddity.

"It's in another world; I'm asleep, so my mind's wandering, literally. When I wake up I'll forget this, but whenever another me sleeps, I'll be back travelling, remembering the life of every me. Now, if I'm not mistaken, missiles have been launched towards one of my forms and I'd like to fly away. Oh and I think Vanille's about to meet me" the ever-present insect gave an approximation of a shrug. "Don't ask me what I'll look like next time we meet. I go for the form which fits the best." Undisturbed this time, the ever-present man bounded into a ripple of green Lifestream, transporting to wherever it came from, to forget this world and all the others until next he shut his eyes to dream.

Aeris stood up, prepared to start her journey towards Cocoon, to save the dying Gran Pulse, while worlds away, Vanille watched Vincent Valentine seemingly vanish into the shadows as Tifa returned to the room. She was travelling by airship, but one thing was still bothering her: how did Vincent know the name Gran Pulse?

**I was just like to conclude by shouting very loudly: I LOVE VINCENT VALENTINE!**

**Anyway, that's that. Hee hee. Hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Ascension

**Trying to make the parts gradually longer.  
Anyway, more mysteries, a few more characters, and a minor cliffhanger. Enjoy, and review please. I'm anxious to improve, or to know if you liked it. **

Vanille sighed, slumping against the wall. Sure, the airship was a novelty to begin with, but it did become boring. They were passing through clouds at the moment, so she couldn't anything outside. Instead, she'd decided to rest in the cargo hold of the _Shera_. The engines were groaning, whirring on slightly, but it wasn't enough to be overly distracting. Curled up in the corner, behind crates of assorted items, Vanille stayed perfectly still, feeling the small vibrations of the craft.

She let out a contented sigh, relaxing, closing her eyes.

When she opened them, she was surrounded by arcs and streaks of pale green. The Lifestream.

There again. She didn't know whether to be happy or sad; sure it looked good, and she might meet Aeris, but it served as a constant distraction. There were plenty of things she wanted to know on Cid's airship, including where they were going.

She felt a light hand touch her shoulder. It felt insubstantial, almost ghostly. She turned to see a transparent person, created by the flow of the Lifestream.

"Vanille" they whispered

"Are you the ever-present man?" she asked leaning forwards. The ghost stepped back, smiling sadly.

"Afraid not" their voice was ethereal, "I am known as Jei. Five hundred years ago, I was on Cocoon."

Vanille paused, seeing colour wash through Jei's outline in the Lifestream. As colour washed through him in waves, appearing and fading, she caught a glimpse of his true appearance; very tanned skin, pale blue eyes, darkish hair that was long down the sides but short elsewhere, and a thin scar down the right side of his nose. He was wearing militaristic wristbands across the entirety of his right forearm, while the other arm was bare. His upper arms were uncovered, but his torso was dressed in a pale green and dark bronze cloth hooked over one shoulder. His legs were clad in tight dark grey fabric that ended three quarters of the way down, and dark, shiny black shoes covered the rest of his shins.

Cocoon, five hundred years ago. Vanille paused, frowning, before suddenly gasping. That was when she and Fang were branded, with the Focus…

Ragnarok.

"No! I'm sorry, Jei!" Vanille hastily tried to apologized. This man was on Cocoon when it had been cracked

"Don't be" the man touched her shoulder again, the Lifestream currents forming him passing through her skin, "We were told to tell you, don't blame yourself. It was the fal'Cie who made it happen. Remember that"

Vanille nodded, trying to forgive herself like the man had. As she was trying, the wisps that composed the Lifestream began to fade. She was leaving.

"Remember that, Vanille" Jei's voice was as good as disembodied as his faint form was washed away. Vanille moved, as if to follow his, when she too was cast out of the Lifestream. Her eyes opened in a flash, to see the dreary grey metal of the airship.

Had the ever-present man sent Jei? Why did she need to remember that it was the fal'Cie who cracked Cocoon?

Shaking her head and sighing again, she lay back, her legs slipping forwards as she did so, landing with a thump on the floor of the hold.

"Who's Jei?" Vincent's voice spoke from the shadows. Vanille looked up, seeing a red cloak blow out of the corner, before being pulled back into the shadows by a gauntleted hand.

"Huh?" Vanille looked at him.

"Your sleep. You mentioned Jei" Vincent stepped out of the shadows stopping and standing by the wall next to Vanille, back to the wall, facing the centre of the room as opposed to Vanille sitting to his right.

"No reason. I was in the Lifestream again, hey, how come you vanished earlier?"

"You mean when Tifa walked in?" Vanille shot a look at her from the corner of his eye. "I never liked reunions" a smile played with the corners of his lips, before giving up.

"You knew Tifa?"

"A while ago."

Vincent lapsed into silence, pinning his cape to the wall with a pointed, metal finger.

"You never said how you knew about Gran Pulse" Vanille said, looking up at the seemingly uninvolved Vincent.

"I knew a l'Cie" he replied, for the first time making a movement. He lowered his head, looking towards the floor, ashamed.

"What?" Vanille did a double take. She wasn't expecting that.

"You're not the first to come through. She entered our world years ago"

"What happened to her?"

"She created the 'Destroyer' and fulfilled her Focus"

"Destroyer?"

"She said that was her Focus: to create the Destroyer."

"She became Ragnarok?" Vanille shivered slightly, afraid. How had this world survived?

"Ragnarok?" Vincent seemed amused, "Not Ragnarok. Worse"

Vanille looked up at Vincent, fear in her eyes. Another l'Cie had come through, and had created something _worse _than Ragnarok?

"What could be worse than Ragnarok" Vanille thought aloud

"Hojo" Vincent suggested, actually looking at Vanille for the first time in the conversation.

"Who's he?"

"The scientist who brought the l'Cie from your world." Vincent became silent again, once more glaring into the empty centre of the room.

"Say" Vanille turned, to look up at Vincent. She frowned as she just saw a few threads of red falling. She turned again, to see where Vincent had gone off to, but he'd again vanished into the shadows. She did notice an open window however, and a red bat of sorts outside, but could that really be Vincent?

She was wondering why he'd gone, but that question was answered in the next second as the intercom that ran throughout the ship buzzed and Cid's voice came through. "Get yo' asses down here!"

Rolling her eyes, Vanille skipped through the airship's corridors. She was heading to the open air platform near the base which was supposed to be the best place for leaving the craft, but from what she'd heard it was just an observatory.

She felt the airship swerve, and fell onto a wall before getting up, running along the slanted floor. There was a loud, beastly roar. Vanille frowned: that was a…

She jumped, skipping along as the airship rotated again. She ran over a window, catching a glimpse of a huge, grey eye glaring through it. It couldn't be…

"Welcome to Mideel" Cid exclaimed through the intercom, as the airship swerved again.

Vanille hopped down a flight of stairs, keeping a grip on the railings as she came to the lowest contained floor. Just below was the open air section.

"Dammit!" Cid cursed.

Vanille ran across the shaking floor towards the ladder. Tifa was slipping down the ladder as she got there.

"Where are we?" Vanille asked, holding onto the floor and waiting for Tifa to go down.

"Oh, this place? It's Mideel" Tifa moved down another rung, desperately trying to not be knocked off. "Closest place to the Lifestream. Sometimes it breaks through, which is what's happening"

With a last grunt, Tifa landed on the observatory platform. Vanille followed, her Gran Pulsian nurture making it easy to descend the shaking ladder. She landed on a platform with Cloud and Tifa. The platform was around the size of a behemoth, with a curved, hemispherical lower side, but the trio stood on the wooden upper, flat side. It had railings all the way around the sides, each person tightly gripping one. And it was mere metres from a grey monstrosity.

It had four legs, each with the width of a thick tree, and each very long, supporting a titanic, grey body. The head was about the size of the airship, with gargantuan tusks swinging through the sky, nearly hitting the _Shera _as it tried to evade.

It was an Adamantoise, native to Gran Pulse.

Vanille stared down, seeing a liquid version of the Lifestream pool on the ground. It was covered in rubble, drifting through the viscous substance, but there were still creatures in the soup. Paws and claws were reaching, stretching out of the Lifestream. Some flew out of the liquid, as the liquid turned to gas, some pulled themselves out, like behemoths, some were pulled down by more ferocious entities. But still the mass exodus of Gran Pulsian creatures continued, the crack into the Lifestream expanding dangerously. Three or so Adamantoises had already broken through.

Vanille grabbed onto the railing, feeling the airship shake as, again, the Adamantoises swung for it, swatting it like one might swat a fly.

Vanille gasped suddenly, an image being burned into her eyes. A tall man, clad in black leather with long, soft white hair swinging in an unknown breeze, lifting a long, long, _long _sword into the air-

The Stigma sent another lance of pain through her, presumably being responsible for the vision. As there was another burst of pain, she shrieked suddenly, losing all grip in her fingers. She fell to her knees, and fell forwards, falling underneath the railings.

Vanille felt herself falling, seeing the _Shera _hover an impassable distance away, as she continued to fall. Down, down, down…

X

That was it. Aeris preferred Midgar. At least there she could take a break, stop at a town maybe. Here there was no chance to relax and while she had enough stamina, it was just horrible to have to keep fighting. Something scared her about how Lightning seemed to relish each battle.

They were in some hot springs, Aeris reckoned. They'd made their way around a tower, climbed up a cliff and ended up in a small cavern, with water continually dripping. Fang, the woman in the blue sari, had chosen to stay in Oerba with Vanille's crystal. So now, Aeris, Snow, Lightning and Hope were making their way through hot springs.

"Come on" Lightning commanded, nimbly leaping from one island to the next. Snow took a running jump, just about making it across, as Lightning took Hope's hand to help him across. Last of all, Aeris tried to jump, swaying on the edge of the next island before gaining her balance and moving on, after the perpetually active Lightning.

A jet of water shot out of the springs, the plume rising high above Aeris and landing with a clattering splash right in front of her. She stepped back, cautious, as another jet of water was shot up.

"Bismarck" Lightning murmured, cursing. Another spurt of water splashed across the land. Aeris ran forwards, through the spray, staggering slightly.

She could _feel _it, she could feel Bismarck, feel the fal'Cie. They made up the nature on this world; they were the aspects of the planets he could communicate with in her own world. Here, they felt more hostile, but she could still feel them. She could still feel the cold rage simmering away beneath the surface, rage at the world.

But why? Fang had said the old Gran Pulsians lived in harmony with the fal'Cie. What had changed to make this fal'Cie come after her, what had changed in the last five hundred years?

Well, an awful lot probably.

Aeris ran forwards again, avoiding a jet of water, as Snow, Hope and Lightning moved on ahead, still avoiding Bismarck, covering themselves as they ran.

Another geyser erupted from the normally tranquil springs, Aeris recoiled from the aqua barrier, looking towards the fal'Cie Bismarck in the water. Could she…

She didn't know what came over her in that instant. Perhaps she honestly thought it was possibly, or perhaps she was lost in the euphoria of knowing her Cetra senses weren't completely dulled. Either way, she turned away from the water jet blocking her path, looking straight at Bismarck. She turned her feet to face the fal'Cie.

Lightning looked at Aeris through the foam of the water jet. What did she think she was doing?

It was only after Aeris ran towards Bismarck, arms outstretched either side of her, to shout 'stop' that Lightning concluded Aeris must be going mad.

Bracing herself, Lightning covered her face with her elbow and whatever magic she muster on short notice, and ran through the beam of water. The feeling of the salty spray striking her felt like being rammed by a dozen behemoths, but she did her best, trying to pull through. After three steps, carried out in less than a second, of the constant force pushing her off the platform (it succeeded in knocking her a few metres despite her defences) Lightning emerged from the jet of water.

Aeris was standing, facing the cavern roof, eyes closed, hair cascading down her back, body facing Bismarck, with her arms pointed out either side of her.

Was she mad?

"Look out!" Lightning shouted, tackling Aeris and knocking her to the floor as a jet of water shot out of Bismarck's mouth. The strongest attack yet crashed up, into the stone layer that performed the role of a ceiling. It struck the stone, and continued to bore through until it fell down, harsh droplets of water as a mere herald.

"Get back!" Lightning yelled, palm facing Hope and Snow as she gestured for them to move back.

No sooner had she said these words, than did rocks start to fall, crumbling off the ceiling damaged by Bismarck. There was a huge roar of stone as the stones fell, huge piles of sheer rock descending from the roof fell, piling onto the island in the water and rolling into the fal'Cie infested spring.

Aeris looked up, untangling herself from Lightning's arm. For her part, she was feeling guilty. She only meant to try and communicate with the fal'Cie: it was a force of nature too, like her Planet. She'd thought, maybe it would hear. She hadn't thought of the possibility that it could already hear them, it just wouldn't listen.

She sat up, looking around. Bismarck was now submerged, and now there was a huge stone wall down the centre of the island they were on.

Lightning cursed, getting to her feet and nimbly running over to the wall of stone.

"Hey, Hope" she shouted through a gap in the landslide

"We can hear ya" Snow's voice drifted back through, muffled

"Not going to risk breaking through the wall, might bring the whole of the springs falling down on us"

"Ever the optimist" Snow murmured dryly

"I live in reality, there's a difference. You go wait by Atomos, Aeris and I will try to climb over the outside" Lightning stepped off a rock, without waiting for an answer.

"Come on then" she looked down, tapping her foot as Aeris got up.

"Did you say climb?" Aeris asked, hurrying to keep up with lightning's brisk pace.

Lightning nodded silently, stopping in front of a sheer cliff face just outside the springs. "It's the only way over" she added, unsheathing her gun-blade.

Aeris stepped further back, dreading the time she'd be spending with this aloof soldier. Lightning fired a few bullets up the sheer rock face and struck a blow to the lower part. After satisfying herself it was secure, she moved her hand towards it, digging in with a spell.

"Use my handholds" Lightning instructed, slowly drilling two more gaps into the cliff face. After half a minute, she slipped her feet into the lower gaps, and her hands into the higher holes. She reached up, curling her hand into the stone with another spell, making more handholds on the towering rock. She moved her feet up to her previous handholds, testing the strength of the stone before making a hole.

Cautiously, Aeris approached the wall, looking up and down it. Oh, this was going to be fun…not…

"Use this" Lightning murmured, already a fair few metres above Aeris. She dropped a small silver capsule, which Aeris caught.

"It's a Grav-Con" Lightning instructed, still ascending, "Guardian Corps standard issue. You can sue it to survive a fall. You need it more than me" Lightning turned silent again, concentrating on carving out a path.

Slightly confused by the sudden display of compassion, Aeris began to try and ascend the cliff face, following the cold, violent soldier ahead.

Meanwhile, mere metres away, the ever-present man lurked, hiding, this time in the human guise of a plump man with goggles and a thick, bushy brown beard. He smirked. Judging by how she'd rushed Bismarck, she may have an inkling of her duty here.

**Note: the designs of the ever-present man aren't original. **


	5. Explanations

**This chapter's just Vanille-Aeris and Lightning will be next-but it explains a lot of plot points, and even includes the (surprisingly canon) reference to the l'Cie Vincent knew.  
Much is explained, but there is still much to learn..  
It's really strange writing this. Aeris is definitely part of the most major storyline, but I find it easier to write Vanille.  
Note: Contains spoilers for much of Vincent's storyline in Final Fantasy Seven, possibly mild spoilers for Dirge Of Cerberus.**

Vanille felt the air rush past her as she continued to fall.

A red, harpy looking creatures rushed into her, scooping her up. She caught a glimpse of the creature, shivering slightly. It looked horrible; a gothic looking red mask covering glowing eyes and mottled flesh.

The creature looked humanoid, but there was a bright, glowing light where its heart should be, and some kind of naturally occurring red armour covered most of its torso, even extending to create a spiky mask of sorts over its face. The eyes were a luminescent orange, and two torn, bat like red and black wings were spread behind it, letting it glide with terrifying ease through the Gran Pulse creatures. One arm was a jagged, golden claw, while the other was pure black. Its knees had dulled bronze spikes, and each foot appeared to be covered by strips of bronze metal.

Was this her fate now, to avoid falling and be captured by this creature?

Vanille grabbed, holding on tightly to the harpy/bat thing, feeling it soar through the air.

She caught a glimpse, over the creature's shoulder, of the _Shera_. She was a long way from the airship, alone with the monstrosity carrying her.

The creature started to scream, a long, deep, piercing screech as it flew lower and lower, the light over its heart becoming brighter and brighter, and the noise becoming louder and louder.

Vanille felt a shudder pass through her as the creature's surprisingly strong legs hit the ground, but it didn't stop. It sprinted, screaming, along the ground, leaping gracefully over a river, moving towards what seemed to be a cliff face. Vanille clenched here yes tight, not wanting to feel the impact-

And for a moment, she was suspended in midair, seeing the ebb and flow of the Lifestream, the circle spinning on, bright, comforting lights, and Jei looking up at her, smiling, speaking: "We forgive you"-

She opened her eyes, to feel alone. She was lying on soft grass, staring up at the clear blue sky. No Gran Pulsian creatures, and no sign of the harpy.

"Do you always fall asleep like that" a voice commented dryly

"Huh?" Vanille sat up, to see Vincent standing, leaning on the cliff wall, "Vincent!" Vanille hopped to her feet, stepping towards him, "Did you get rid of that mean creature?"

"Hardly" Vincent replied, "It was one of my demons. Chaos."

"That thing was you?" Vanille tilted her head, seeing a slight similarity in colour and clothing. Vincent nodded curtly.

Vanille gasped, covering her mouth. "How?" she seemed appalled. What could turn Vincent into…that?

"Hojo" Vincent murmured darkly, saying the name like a curse. "Married to the l'Cie so she could complete her Focus" Vincent was shaking slightly, not trough fear, but as if he was trying to keep the creature inside him under control.

"Are you okay?" Vanille rested an arm on Vincent's shoulder as he winced.

"Fine" Vincent grunted, standing up straight and stepping forwards before staggering and thrusting his gauntleted arm at the wall, for support. The metal glove broke through the rock, but he kept his balance, staggering further forwards. Vanille looked ahead, wondering why Vincent wouldn't just stop, until she saw a largish cave entrance in the wall ahead.

What was in that cave?

"You're not fine" Vanille decided, helping Vincent as he stumbled along the ground. The normally proud red-clad man seemed grateful for the help; maybe, Vanille thought, he just acted like he wanted to be alone, but really was grateful for anyone who'd actually help him. Yup, definitely like Lightning.

Vincent, gasping slightly, moved away from Vanille, taking the last step to the mouth of the cave alone. He rested his gloved,. Not gauntleted, hand on the cave wall, stumbling inside. Vanille followed him as he entered the cave. She ignored the twinge in her GeoStigma.

She was not expecting what she saw.

The cave was mainly a hollow of black stone, with little natural light. However, there was still a pale blue/white glow illuminating the smooth stone. There were naturally occurring stone pillars at the back of the cave, but in the centre there was another pillar, not made of stone. It was this pillar that gave off a minor light, glimmering brightly. It was a pillar made of crystal.

Inside a pillar was a woman, fingers interlocked in front of her, with long hair curled past her neck.

She was in crystal sleep.

Vincent staggered forwards, collapsing onto the crystal floor in front of her. He seemed to gain strength from this. He lay there, perfectly still, listening to the empty air.

"The l'Cie" Vincent murmured, lying on the smooth crystal floor.

Vanille looked at the woman. A l'Cie from Gran Pulse here, in this world.

The crystalline woman seemed serene, and her form appeared visible in the crystal: odd, but not unheard of. A few people had a natural resistance to the fal'Cie, like Dajh. Vanille tilted her head, looking, focusing on the lost l'Cie with the fulfilled Focus. Her hair was brushed lightly over her face, but most of it was held up in a ribbon. She couldn't make out any colours through the tinted crystal. Her eyes were closed and her hands were touching, resting over a white dress. She had three pearl necklaces around her neck.

Vanille had no doubt that, somewhere on her body, was a l'Cie brand. Evidently, GeoStigma hadn't been present back then.

Vincent sat up before standing, in one fluid motion.

"I'm so sorry" the faint words echoed around the cavern. Vanille looked around for the indeterminate source, before looking back at the l'Cie. It was her who had spoken.

"Lucrecia" Vincent murmured, real sadness showing in his voice. He stood metres away, unwilling to go near the crystal, his hands by his sides, and torn cloak falling uselessly.

Vanille closed her eyes, opening them to see the Lifestream. In front of her stood the woman; hair looking the same, carelessly falling over her perpetually sad face. She wore the same combination of white drapes, complementing her pale complexion.

"Tell Vincent…I'm so sorry" Lucrecia murmured, closing her eyes as the waves of the Lifestream rose. "It was my fault…I…my Focus was to make the Destroyer. I achieved it but then…then I saw what he'd do…"

"Don't beat yourself up" Vanille grinned despite the almost contagious sadness around Lucrecia "It wasn't your fault"

"You never saw him. I was his mother. Hojo took me from Gran Pulse for that reason: tat I might bear him a child, and it was the Destroyer I'd been branded to create."

"It can't be all that bad" Vanille shrugged, moving closer

"He destroyed Nibelheim and tried to do the same to the world"

"That's not so bad! My Focus is to…to destroy Gran Pulse" Vanille looked down, feeling Lucrecia's sadness but still making light of it, "There are some things you just can't do anything about it"

"I tried though, even if it meant becoming a Cie'th. I had a vision of what he'd do when he grew. I tried but…he was just a child, a baby I couldn't bring myself to hurt him, not when he looked at me with those blue eyes…" Lucrecia let one tear fall down her face, "They wouldn't let me hold him. My own son and I couldn't even touch him"

"That's…" Vanille couldn't finish the sentence. She was glad she was born in Gran Pulse, if this world had that kind of person in.

"I couldn't bear it. Our brands progress slowly in this world; it took weeks before I started to turn to crystal. I lived for years before that, but those weeks felt the longest…I wished I could die. Hojo had taken our son, and killed Vincent. It was more than I could bear"

"Vincent died?" Vanille's gaze snapped up from the 'floor' composed of the swirling Lifestream.

"I saved him, if you can call it that. I put the creature. Chaos, inside him. For all my sins, I have but done that one bit of good: I saved Vincent"

"And your son?"

"He's died, Vincent told me. Even knowing what he's done…I still feel sad for him. He's my child and…I know I shouldn't, even if he is the Destroyer, but I feel that he didn't deserve death"

Vanille gasped in pain for a brief moment. The GeoStigma played up, a pulse of pain spreading through her thigh and as far down as her knee. Her vision turned to black for a moment, before a scene, one still from some ancient events, appeared in front of her.

There was blue, an old temple, amazing architecture, over pristine water. Aeris was kneeling in the centre, her familiar red dress and pink skirt illuminated by the blue crystal surroundings. High above, there was a man, clad in black leather and silver buckles. He had sleek silver hair flowing past a pronounced face, shining blue eyes filled with hate, and, in two black gloved hands, a long, long sword, raised, prepared for one motion. He was high above Aeris as she knelt, praying to a white sphere she clasped tightly. As Vanille watched, the man descended, bringing the sword closer to Aeris…

The pain subsided. Vanille opened her eyes to see the green, swirling Lifestream. She was on her knees. Quickly, she bounced up, tilting her head as she looked at Lucrecia.

"Please say you're ok" the other l'Cie crouched, looking at Vanille

"Of course I'm fine" Vanille grinned, hiding the pain.

She could feel a soft tingling as the Lifestream threatened to envelop her, to take her back to Vincent. The current rose, waves of green passing through her. Her fingers seemed translucent, and her legs felt like they were air.

"Please" Lucrecia gave a small, almost reluctant, smile, "tell Vincent I'm sorry, but he should move on. I'm gone, I'm lost to him. Tell him to let me go, I don't want to ruin his future when I've done so much to his past"

"I will" Vanille nodded, for once solemn, as the green of the Lifestream faded to the white, blue and black of the cave.

"You ok?" Vincent grunted, kneeling just above her. Her eyes widened slightly; for the first time, she could actually see his eyes. They were deep crimson, with pale red lining the pupils.

"Yep" Vanille grinned, swooning, on partly due to the sensation of being plunged into the Lifestream repeatedly. That ever-present man had done a pretty shoddy job of keeping her in this world; that is, if he wasn't the one helping her enter the Lifestream.

Vincent nodded, getting up and distancing himself from Vanille. Vanille sat up slowly.

"Say, Vincent" he turned to look at her, "Who was Lucrecia's son?"

"The Destroyer" Vincent muttered, a trace of anger in his voice. "the Calamity. Call him what you will. His name is Sephiroth"

"He doesn't sound that bad, not worse than Ragnarok at least" Vanille frowned, understanding the hate of him but not the fear

"You know Aeris?" Vincent murmured, looking at Lucrecia and not Vanille

"Yeah"

"He killed her."

Those three words made Vanille stumble as she tried to talk to Vincent. Lucrecia's son, hopefully dead as Lucrecia had said, had killed Aeris? That was…horrible. She couldn't think of any more words for it. Who could think Aeris deserved death?

"Oh, hey Vincent?" Vanille waved, hiding her discomfort, "Lucrecia talked to me just now. She wanted me to say something"

"What?" Vincent was still staring at the crystal pillar. Vanille felt a pang of jealously, though she wasn't sure why, before starting to talk.

"She said…she was sorry" Vanille began, turning herself to peer at Lucrecia's crystal form, before looking back at Vincent, "She said to move on, let her go. Don't live in the past, she doesn't want to make you suffer any more"

"Hm" Vincent grunted, moving back to the cave wall while keeping his eyes on Lucrecia. "If only it were so easy" he refused to elaborate.

Vanille lost track of how much time she spent there; watching Vincent stare, enraptured by the light as it shone through the crystal. Vincent was standing by the wall, pressed against it. Didn't his feet ever get tired? He seemed to be almost a part of the stone, completely still. The pale blue glow of the crystal almost blocked out the crimson of his cloak and bandanna, and his pale skin just looked like a trick of the shadows. He was just standing there, completely still. Like a statue.

Vanille got up, moving towards him, staggering slightly due to the pain that was now running from her ankle to her waist. She was jealous of Lucrecia; she'd come through before the GeoStigma had started spreading.

A bolt of pain lanced through her as she took another step. She staggered, darkness veined with green lightning stealing through her sight. She doubled up as another flash of pain ran through her, gasping. She felt, as if through a thick blanket, her body hit the cave floor, but by then she was already fading.

Darkness.

Again, the Lifestream was flowing in front of her. But this time she seemed alone; no Ragnarok, no Jei. Just bands of light. Supposedly, the GeoStigma relapse had done this; they seemed to be connected to the Lifestream.

"Are you ready to start helping?" a tired man's voice murmured.

"Huh?" Vanille span around. Behind her, arms at his sides, was a man dressed in an odd yellow cloak, a jacket with a hood that extended a fair way above his pale face. It was lined with red, and had black circles on the top of the hood, and his upper arms.

"It's me" he spread his arms, "the ever-present man, again. Sorry to say I've just died, but I trust she'll manage. My Ce…" he seemed almost wistful. "Oh, Vanille, are you helping?"

"Helping with what?" Vanille frowned, confused by the sheer number of stories the ever-present man seemed to be involved in.

"The evacuation, of course. Weren't you at Mideel?"

"What?" Vanille stumbled despite the fact she was stationary, "That was you?"

"Of course! Gran Pulse is dying. Soon it won't be able to support any life, and I always have a back-up. If Aeris cannot save them, then the inhabitants can come here! There's plenty of space"

"What about GeoStigma?" Vanille frowned, lifting her leg to show the discolouration spreading across most of it, even to her ankle.

"Don't worry" the ever-present man shrugged, "don't tell anyone, but they'll have to deal with it soon enough. Everyone'll be fine in a few weeks, if Cloud doesn't slip up. You see, time is constant between the worlds; that's how Lucrecia comes from Gran Pulse even though the civilization died out centuries ago. The right path between the worlds can get you to any time, though my interference isn't documented." The yellow jacketed man shrugged, "My apologies for ranting. I've just got so much going on in my head. New form every time, never gets old. So much to say… Anyway, you should know now, I'm making a portal through the Lifestream, letting the Gran Pulsian creatures get through. You have to look after them, let the people get used to them, in case Aeris fails. Which seems all too likely; she's barking up completely the wrong tree, and I've lost track of her. Bismarck split them up" the man cursed

"I thought you could find anyone?" Vanille tilted her head, puzzled

"Sadly, no. I have to look around just like anyone else, I can just start looking wherever I want to. Unfortunately, Aeris was split up from the others, and she's taking some route I'm not sure of."

"Who are you anyway?" Vanille slumped, wishing for even the slightest bit of information.

"I told you, I am the ever-present man. I have a common theme, mostly, but everything else varies. I am an inventor, a hated doctor, a dead man, a headmaster, a commanding officer… You've already met me" he shrugged, "I just couldn't remember. Until I sleep, I'm disconnected from every other world. Now, don't forget, you must aid the evacuation of Gran Pulse"

"No" Vanille replied simply.

"What?" the ever-present man seemed shocked

"I said no; you can't just expect everyone to do as you say."

"It's not for me" he snapped, "I'm trying to help, and you have-" he stopped talking instantly. A few seconds passed after his shout before he took a deep breath, speaking mildly. "You're right, I'm sorry. Each of my bodies has a different mind, evidently this one's self-assured, and when I transported you I was selfish. I am sorry, please, may we have a more reasoned discussion?"

"Sure" Vanille grinned, slightly put off by the change of moods.

The ever-present man nodded for a moment, the yellow jacket shining in a white light. The glimmer spread, until he was little more than a silhouette. The ever-present man raised one hand, flexing them, and the Lifestream swirled, flowing through his fingers, and the green veins of light growing and spreading over his form. He seemed to get slightly shorter, maybe even rounder. Then, steadily, the lights faded, and a new form was revealed.  
He had brown hair, the shade of wood, and slightly tanned skin. He wore glasses, and was dressed in a kind of suit; crisp white shirt, dark green tie, red waistcoat and folded grey trousers. He wore smart black shoes.

"That's better" he spoke in a different, more even voice. "Now, please Vanille, I beg you to understand. Gran Pulse is dying, and Aeris is the only one who can help. She is the last Cetra, and I dare not interfere with the delicate past: the Cetra of old were too firmly ingrained in their ways, too close to their Planet, and when they died they dissolved into the Lifestream. Aeris however was too close to the humans, and her last act tied her to the spell Holy, meaning she did not merely fade away. She was the only choice"

"Why can't Gran Pulse just face its own problems, we survived that way before?"

"You can't save yourselves this time. It is too complicated to explain properly but, in essence, the natural progression of life was knocked slightly off course long, long ago and since then your world has been dying"

"What do you mean?"

"Imagine a matchstick. Those years ago, the tip was lit. Now imagine the match is a bridge; the damage has been done, and even if you fix it, the damage will have been done. Half the stick, half the bridge, will be ash, and eventually, snap. It will crack: what you need is someone who can not only put out the flame, but undo the damage"

"And that's Aeris?"

"Irreplaceably. She is a Cetra"

"So why send all the Gran Pulse creatures over? I trust Aeris"

"Nothing like this has ever been attempted" the man straightened his waistcoat, "I don't know if it's even possible for her to succeed, but we have to try. I won't face losing that world, not after what I was forced to do there."

"But-" Vanille started to protest.

"Please, no more" the ever-present man raised one hand, "I can't stay here any longer. This body has a meeting with Galbadia Garden, so it needs its mind back. But please, Vanille, even if you don't help the evacuation, don't hinder it. Let it continue and maybe, just maybe, some of your world will survive."

And with that last, eerie statement, the ever-present man stepped back. Beads of light separated from him, shimmering as they spread throughout the Lifestream. More of the balls of light grew, darting, weaving through the strands of green. The ever-present man vanished yet again, leaving Vanille alone.

She took a moment, remembering what she could: there was an evacuation from Gran Pulse being orchestrated by the ever-present man, whoever he was, because of a catastrophe that began years ago, and Aeris was called over to deal with it, though she might not succeed.

Just like a normal-

Vanille gasped in pain again, the pain of her GeoStigma suddenly flaring. Her eyes snapped open, not to see pale green, but to see the dark crystal cave. Lucrecia was in the centre, eyes closed as always.

Vanille didn't move though, not yet. She could feel something covering her. A blanket or something. She peered out of the corner of her eye. Red, it was red. And, judging by the cold air brushing across her shins, it was torn. Observing the cave again, Vanille caught sight of Vincent. He was wearing black, in a kind of suit, but not his red cloak. Vanille frowned slightly, bending her neck slightly, looking at her covering. It was Vincent's cloak.

She smiled to herself; when she'd collapsed, he must've tried to keep her warm, laying her out straight, comfortably, and giving her a blanket. Though he didn't seem to need one; did he ever get cold?

He inhaled, breathing in Vincent's familiar scent. He did have a heart after all; he wasn't just the Chaos anti-social monster he acted like.

Wrapped in Vincent Valentine's cloak, bathed in the light of Lucrecia's crystal, Vanille sighed, closing her eyes and drifting off to a needed, deserved sleep. A dreamless sleep, not haunted by visions of the Lifestream.


	6. Peace

**A little more is revealed about the ever-present man. This part is based solely on Gran Pulse with Aeris and Lightning.**

Aeris gasped, panting, as she pulled herself over the top of the cliff. Smooth ground, at last!

"You took your time" Lightning murmured. Aeris looked up; she was sitting, resting her back on a tree. "Come on" she got up.

Sighing, Aeris followed across the uneven ground. There were several, leafless trees dotted around the earth; worn bark and pale wood. They were dying, like the rest of Gran Pulse. The ground too was bare, with only thin patches of grass covering the dry soil.

They were a long way from the normal level of the ground. Hope, Sazh and Snow were waiting near the Atomos, but they were too far above that. They had a fair distance to cover, before a painstaking descent. Aeris grabbed the Grav-Con Lightning had given her; well, that should help at least.

Panting, Aeris made it to a snapped tree. She grabbed onto the lower half, to catch her breath for a moment, watching Lightning skip along the ground. The pink haired warrior seemed to breeze across the knot of roots and pockets of sandy soil, unaffected by the strenuous climb. Aeris envied her stamina slightly, but shivered at the thought of its previous uses. Lightning seemed to almost relish the fights, the killing.

As if to prove her point, Lightning slashed a hound, sending it fleeing, yowling.

Aeris shivered, trying to continue.

The Cetra in the pink dress managed to move a few metres ahead before Lightning turned around.

"You tired?" she called back, skipping across the tangle ground.

"A bit" Aeris panted, barely coherent, breathing heavily.

Lightning groaned, exasperated, stopping next to the bent-double Aeris.

"Stop for a bit" Lightning announced, still standing, "There's no use going on if you can't defend yourself"

Aeris gratefully sat down, feeling a pang of guilt fro delaying Lightning, but also a slight pang of fear. Lightning was talking about fighting again. Always fighting.

"Why did you try and talk to that fal'Cie?" Lightning rolled her eyes, trying to make conversation as Aeris regained her stamina.

"I can normally talk to the Planet" Aeris breathed deeply, "It didn't feel any different. It was a force of nature"

"You've got a lot to learn" Lightning sighed, "you can't chat to everything you see"

"You don't have to kill it either" Aeris spoke up without thinking, looking down once she'd finished, ashamed.

"Huh?"

"I've seen you fight, you love it. It…it scares me, the way your eyes light up, like all you want to do is win that battle, and win another…"

"Aeris" Lightning paused, "Don't confuse wanting to with having to. I'm a soldier, I know how to fight and here we have to fight. We can't just hope it'll go away"

"No one should ever enjoy killing" Aeris closed her eyes.

She could remember the sensations of her own world: even when she'd seen President ShinRa lying there, dead, she'd felt a twinge of pity. Even he had a family, he was alive, and even the most evil creature had some trace of humanity in them. And that light had been extinguished permanently. Death wasn't something to be celebrated: even when the soul could return to the Planet, it would never return the same way.

She'd died too, she remembered. She seen the pain it caused, and seen the desperation to save her. And yet, she'd felt sad when her murderer had fallen. Even he deserved compassion; he was trying to be seen as worthwhile by the Calamity he perceived to be his mother.

If they deserved pity, if they deserved emotion, if they were just as unique and wonderful as everything else, how could killing them ever be right?

"I kill to survive" Lightning looked at her blade, "Sure, I don't always want to. I still have to"

"There are people like you in Midgar" Aeris closed her eyes, remembering, wistful even for those horrors. "They're called SOLDIER. They say they're just trying to help us, but they keep on killing. They enjoy it, and soon they become addicted to it. Machines, only ever killing because they like it. Horrible"

"I'm not like them"

"Aren't you?"

"No" Lightning shook her head, "If I was a monster I wouldn't be helping you."

"Lightning" Aeris began

"Call me Light"

"Lightning" Aeris began again. She had nothing to do with light. "I knew a SOLDIER, I liked him, I loved him. He was still fighting, and I couldn't bear that. He died because of it: I felt him enter the Planet, in pain. That's what it did to him; he kept on killing, and it killed him, but I didn't know when I first met him. I couldn't tell he was a SOLDIER. He felt normal, peaceful. I loved that part of him: the part that didn't fight. I was scared of the rest"

"Are you telling me you never hurt anything?"

"Not if I could help it" Aeris closed her eyes, "I healed. I didn't harm unless I had to"

"Exactly. I don't have a choice but to fight"

"But you don't have to enjoy it so much"

"Would you rather I hated it?" Lightning rolled her eyes, annoyed, "It's unavoidable. If I didn't want to fight then I wouldn't last a second. The creatures here, they want to fight, and they do fight. If we didn't defend ourselves then where would we be?"

"We don't have to fight to defend ourselves. Look at Snow, Lightning. He just accepts that they'll attack him, and doesn't retaliate unless he has to"

"We'd have half of Pulse on us if we just stood and took it"

"You didn't hurt Bismarck. That fal'Cie in the springs, you left it alone"

"It was too strong in the water." Lightning shrugged

"So that's how you judge life? Too strong or worth killing?" the normally serene Aeris was starting to show annoyance

"Of course not! But if they attack us, we have to fight back, unless it's too tough a foe"

"What about those Cie'th in Oerba? You ran up behind it and attacked, you never gave it a chance. It might've just let us walk by"

"Too much like Vanille" Lightning sighed, "Optimism has no place on Pulse. Cie'th live only to fight"

"Like you" Aeris murmured.

"No!" Lightning stood up, angry. "You don't know anything about me. I live to try and get my sister back, to get Hope back to his parents, to get Sazh his son back and to get you to Cocoon. I'm only fighting because that's what I have to do. I never used to fight, until I decided to become a soldier to anaesthetize myself once my parents died. I never wanted any of this, but if I have to fight, I will. If I have to kill, I will. If I have to die, I will. I'm doing what I can, that's all it ever was" Lightning turned to march off, "And stay there" she shouted back, not looking at Aeris, "If I'm too much of a monster then don't come near me."

Aeris pulled herself up, slightly less exhausted, looking towards the distant figure. She hadn't meant to hurt her like that. She moved forwards, tripping over a gnarled root. Lightning nimbly ran a few more metres away, close to the edge of the plateau, while Aeris fell to the ground.

Shaking herself off, Aeris got up again, moving towards Lightning before tripping again. This time, she hit her head and momentarily closed her eyes-

-and opened them to see the swirling Lifestream. Back here. She sighed, before seeing a man come into view in front of her.

"Glad I found ya" the black, spiky haired muscled man, dressed in black, grinned.

"Zack!" Aeris gasped, smiling and taking a step towards him

"Hiya Aeris!" he pulled her into a hug, "Someone calling himself the ever-present man told me to find ya, he looked a bit like an onion." Zack shrugged

"I'm glad you found me" Aeris smiled, softly. Here she was, running into the arms of a SOLDIER when she'd just berated Lightning for behaving in a similar way.

"What's wrong?" Zack lightly caressed a lock of her hair through his glove.

"Nothing's wrong" Aeris let out a contented sigh, just glad to have met Zack again. She rested her head on his shoulder, eyes closed.

"Come on Aeris, I know you to well for that" he laughed, resting one hand softly on her hair.

"It's just…I don't know what to believe any more"

"That's easy, believe what you feel"

"That's just it: I don't know what I feel. I met someone, she's like you Zack"

"Should I feel insulted?"

"The old you, silly, the ShinRa SOLDIER"

"Ah, I get it" Zack nodded, "You've found someone else" his Mako infused eyes, twinkled playfully

"No" Aeris laughed, pushing him jokingly. He could always cheer her up. "It's just… she fights, and she loves its"

"I remember the last time you said that" Zack nodded slowly, "You were talking about me"

"That's different"

"Is it?"

"I…I think so" Aeris hesitated.

"If you really want my opinion, which you apparently do because you haven't run off yet, just because someone fights doesn't mean they're all bad. It's only a part of who they are. Look at me! No really, look at me" Zack grinned again. Aeris chuckled.

"It's just" she looked down, sad, again, "She says she's a protector, like SOLDIER, but she still just loves it too much. It's not normal, loving to fight like that. It's…"

"Like SOLDIER?"

"Like SOLDIER" Aeris nodded

"Like me?"

"No, not like you" Aeris shook her head quickly

"But I'm SOLDIER. Or I was, anyway"

"But you're different, you're…nice"

"And she's never been nice?"

"Well…" Aeris paused, remembering when she'd started to climb the cliff with Lightning. She'd been given that Grav-Con device, that would've saved her life had she fallen. Lightning was kind, sometimes, then. She was kind to Hope at the very least, from what she'd seen. But not to Snow. Lightning always seemed to have a reason though. She didn't just fight, sometimes she could be, well, human.

"Focus on that part of her; like you do with me" Zack whispered, pulling Aeris closer.

They stood there for a while, silently embracing, feeling the Lifestream, the very current of life swirl around them as their hearts beat in unison.

"I love you Aeris" Zack whispered into her ear.

"Glad to see you've found her" a jolly voice called, stopping Aeris from replying. Zack turned.

"Oh, you" he rolled his eyes.

The newcomer was a round, human like creature with bulky trousers, a turquoise shirt and a grey jacket, with a yellow skinned head on top of his spherical body. His head had an odd stalk growing out of the top, with ridges that could be equated to hair growing along the sides of his head. He wore glasses, one lens of which was shaded.

"Aeris, this onion calls himself the ever-present man" Zack muttered.

"Onion?" the ever-present man laughed, "That's rich coming from you, porcupine head" he chortled.

Zack blinked¸ bemused.

"Anyway, Aeris" the ever-present onion turned to her, "I've been looking for you. You're heading the wrong direction, you see-" his voice immediately cut off. Aeris frowned.

The onion looked up, at what would've been the sky. He stared at the swirling Lifestream for a few minutes before shouting up at it: "Look, you're the ones who made me ever-present. If you don't like it then it's your own fault, and you didn't mind when I helped Cosmos summon those-"

He stopped shouting for a moment. It seemed as if something silent was responding.

"Look, yes I know Chaos was-" the ever-present man paused, before shouting again. "What're you going to do, huh? Send me to hell again? I got out easily last time, some of me is already on Arruboth, the road to heaven and part of me is friends with the Emperor" he rolled his eyes.

"I don't care about your rules!" he shouted again at the Lifestream, "I'm saving Gran Pulse if you want me to or not. Oh, yeah, by all means send me to Jade. I'll waltz out, or maybe I'll build another airship, fly out. You can't punish all my forms; they outnumber even you. Oh, right, come on then!" the onion creature shouted up, finishing and spreading his arms out, staring, defiant.

There was a moment's silence.

"Thought so" he murmured, irritated, as nothing else happened. "Gods" he offered by way of explanation to a confused looking Aeris and Zack, "Entities made by concentrations of the Lifestream, present in every world and connecting them. I bargained with them to become ever-present, the first and last person they ever did that to. You see, they're really not all that godly: egotistical and short sighted is pretty much the sum of what they are, they're just pockets of Mako that gained sentience from all the awareness pouring into them. Of course, they are pretty powerful, but they never do anything. Of course they don't want me to do more than them, so they limited me, but they can't punish me at all: when I actually know I'm ever-present there's nothing I can't escape" the onion gave a slightly cocky grin.

Still confused, Zack shrugged.

"Doesn't matter anyway" the ever-present man paused, "They don't want me to tell you what you're really supposed to do. Oh well. The reason you were brought over is-" in a rather anticlimactic moment, a puff of Lifestream suddenly enveloped the ever-present man. There was a roar, as if of thunder, and the wave subsided, leaving nothing.

The ever-present man had gone, washed away by the Lifestream and whatever 'gods' he was angry at. It seemed they could limit him after all.

"Well, that was fun" Zack announced, stepping back and stretching. "Not every day you see vanishing onions"

Aeris nodded slowly, slightly haunted by the ordeal. Was she doing the wrong thing, was that why the ever-present man had tried to warn her? If so, what was she supposed to do?

She changed her train of thought quickly. Hopefully she'd find out her real aim sometime soon but for now, she would just head for Cocoon. She'd see what would happen from then on. But for now, to Cocoon. And hopefully, she wouldn't encounter the annoying ever-present man again, not after his vanishing act. Though she doubted it.

"Hey, Aeris" Zack broke the silence again.

"Mm" Aeris turned, smiling

"Did you ever fix the roof of your church? I mean, sorry I fell through it and all"

"Don't worry, it was rebuilt. Then someone else fell through it. Why do people keep doing that?"

"They can't stay away from you, of course. Who fell through it, anyone I know?"

"Yes actually. Cloud"

Zack froze, almost comically.

"Sheesh, I told him to live for me and all, but still…" Zack rubbed the back of his neck. "You planning to come back to the Lifestream any time soon?"

"I hope so" Aeris sighed, downcast suddenly. "That onion keeps-"

She stopped talking, feeling the world around her instantly transition. In the space of one blink. She'd moved from the comforting embrace of Zack and the illumination of the Lifestream, to lying on the rugged earth of Gran Pulse. She looked up; Lightning hadn't moved far. Not too much time had passed then; good.

"Light!" Aeris shouted. The soldier turned, struck by Aeris's new, friendlier tone and the use of the diminutive form of her name.

Aeris ran closer, remembering Zack. In some ways, Lightning was like him; both fought, but neither were just fighters.

Maybe this journey would be bearable after all.

**I wonder if there are any Final Fantasy nerds like me out there who spotted the reference to Final Fantasy II...**


	7. Introductions

The _Shera_ descended further, lightly touching down on an open plain. The airship's engines drew to a stop, the whirring being replaced by silence.

A few metres from its tip, Vincent looked out of a cave. They'd taken all night to find him; surprising really, he usually came here. Then again, they might've needed repairs after the Gran Pulse creatures came through. So from that angle, he was surprised they'd got here so quickly.

Vincent shrugged, pacing back into the cave. Beneath his cloak, nestled in the warm red, Vanille was curled up by the cave wall. He sat down on the ground near her¸ a smile spreading across his face. It was an odd sensation; he'd never had much cause to smile.

Vanille was sleeping. How odd; he'd never known sleep since his years in slumber beneath the ShinRa Mansion. And yet, watching her like that brought him close to the feeling of sleep, the tranquillity, but without the nightmares of guilt he'd suffered.

"You should smile more often" Vanille murmured from beneath his cloak. Vincent frowned, looking at her, smile vanishing. "You're pretty when you smile."

"You're awake" Vincent stated.

"No" Vanille grinned cheekily beneath the cloak. Her face was just visible underneath a torn corner as she shut her eyes again.

There was a moment's pause as Vincent watched Vanille pretend to sleep.

"You know, you need a new coat" Vanille muttered, eyes still closed. "Look at it, all ripped and torn"

"I bought it like that" Vincent replied, sitting cross legged as he waited for Vanille to do something.

"What- why?"

"Turks standard issue. In the old days they gave away dangerous looking uniform for population control"

"You're joking" Vanille's eyes opened at last, sparkling.

"Of course. Twenty eight years in a coffin with moths will do that to clothes"

"You could buy a new one" Vanille suggested, sitting up and letting the red cloak pool in her lap.

"It was a gift. Can't be replaced" Vincent replied.

Vanille nodded, still smiling, as she threw Vincent his cloak back.

"Thanks" he inclined his head the barest amount. In one graceful motion, he slipped the cloak on and started to pace out of the cave.

"Hey, Vincent!" Vanille waved, calling, "Don't go!"

"Who said I was going?" he seemed almost amused, "The _Shera _is outside. I'd have thought you wanted to go back to Cloud"

"Sure!" Vanille bounced towards Vincent, cheerful, before a sudden pain shot through her leg. She looked down, gasping in shock and fear. Her GeoStigma now covered most of her leg, all of her foot apart from the tips of her toes, and was spreading onto her other leg and to the base of her ribs.

"No one else seemed to be this affected" Vanille gasped, moving her infected leg tenderly forward.

"They wouldn't be. They come from the Planet, they just have a little alien matter within them, but you are completely alien, so all of you can be infected"

"Nice thought" Vanille shuddered.

"Stay there" Vincent muttered, taking a long, graceful step across the cave, until he reached a patch of crystal growing from the stone ground, a fair distance from Lucrecia. Kneeling down, he pinched a branch of the crystal with his gauntlet, and a small snap echoed throughout the cave, like the sound of glass breaking.

"It comes from the Planet" Vincent murmured, kneeling next to the now sitting Vanille, "It's Gran Pulsian crystal blended with the Lifestream that courses through this cave. A mediator really" without any warning, Vincent pressed the crystal to Vanille's shin. The sudden cold made her gasp but, to her surprise, there was no pain from the Stigma.

"The crystal" Vincent explained, slowly massaging her Stigma with it, "is native to Gran Pulse, but it's fused with our Lifestream. GeoStigma is the Planet's immune system, but this crystal is showing the Planet that you're not a threat. It should dull the pain for a while."

"Th-thanks" Vanille smiled, shivering as the cold crystal caressed her skin.

"Don't thank me, it's nothing" his soft voice replied, the gently shimmering crystal in his hand removing all the soreness from her lower leg and knee.

"You've got a nice Planet" Vanille commented, gasping slightly as the icy crystal ran across her thigh

"This is nice?" Vincent looked at her, questioningly, "Having GeoStigma?"

"No, I mean, it tries to help. Gran Pulse never did that, but yours does. It's…nice"

"I guess" Vincent murmured, pressing the crystal against the place where Vanille's brand used to be.

"You know" Vanille started smiling as the crystal ventured to her inner thigh, "A girl could get the wrong idea, with you…" she left the sentence hanging, not sure how to finish it.

"The _wrong _idea" Vincent repeated, meeting her gaze, before looking away and applying the crystal to her lower stomach.

There were a few moments more silence, as Vincent massaged up to her ribs, removing the ache from the entire Stigma. He kept his hand lingering over her heart, feeling the mesmerizing beat, before moving back.

"What was that you were saying about the wrong idea?" Vanille teased.

He didn't respond. Instead, he handed the crystal to Vanille and watched her slip it into a pouch at her waist.

"You might need it later" he muttered.

"There's no cure" Vanille sighed

"That's what I said before"

"I thought you might've changed your mind, you've changed your mind about other things. You haven't run away yet at least"

"I'm only staying away from my friends. I told you, I don't like reunions"

"So, I'm not your friend?" Vanille tilted her head, adding a bit of faux sadness to her voice

"No, I meant-"

"Girlfriend! Girlfriend" another singsong voice broke into the conversation. Vincent rolled his eyes, moment spoiled, and got up.

"Yuffie" he groaned

"You called?" a short black haired, pale skinned woman dropped from the ceiling, features lit by a broad grin

"No"

"Aw, come on Vince, don't be like that!" she leant forward, whispering conspiratorially, "Who's your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend" Vincent replied after a moment

"You hesitated!" Yuffie grinned again, victorious, "She has to be. Besides, with friends, no one puts their hand-"

"How long have you been here?" Vanille piped up, blushing slightly

"Long enough. Cid picked me up at Mideel, and I still haven't found any cool materia" Yuffie was silent for a moment, "Do you have any materia?" she leant towards Vanille.

"What's materia?" Vanille tilted her head.

"Shiny" Yuffie replied, practically breathless as she leapt to an alarming height over Vanille. "Got one!" she grinned, taking something spherical out of the cavern roof.

"So, the _Shera's _outside?" Vincent grunted, trying to bring the ninja under control.

"Yep" Yuffie nodded, holding the sphere she'd taken from the cavern roof between two fingers and peering at it through the light. The sphere was a pale blue.

"You two want the same room, or haven't you got that far?" Yuffie twisted her neck, still holding the sphere aloft

"I told you" Vincent sighed, "We're not-"

"Come on Vince, you were just str-"

"He was helping my Stigma" Vanille interjected, slightly worried by how eager Yuffie seemed to be for gossip.

"But that's no fun" Yuffie pouted, slumping slightly before peering at Vanille, "What Stigma?"

"This…" Vanille lifted up her leg to show the Stigma, before realizing the blotches had gone. Her skin was pale and smooth. Slightly amazed, Vanille pulled the fur pelt over her waist up slightly higher.

"Save it for Vince" Yuffie muttered, looking away. Vanille ignored her, staring at a spot on her thigh. Once, her l'Cie brand had proudly been emblazoned on that spot: now it was normal, pale flesh, with a soft, comforting shine to it, like the Lifestream.

"I thought you said there was no cure?" she looked up at Vincent, breathless

"There isn't, normally. The Planet was affecting you for a different reason though: you're from Gran Pulse. Lucrecia also came from Gran Pulse, and she turned to crystal in this cave, close to the Lifestream. The Lifestream here adapted to her and knew she wasn't a threat, the crystal in the cave is a blend of Gran Pulse and the Lifestream. I just let it recognize that you're the same and it took away the Stigma" Vincent explained. "It might not last too long"

Yuffie let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like 'girlfriend' before jumping for a moment.

"Come on then guys, _Shera's _waiting!" she turned, fumbling a little with her materia. The pale blue orb fell out of her hands. Vanille knelt down, picking up and, when she was just about to give it back to Yuffie, an image appeared in the orb.

The blue colouring swirled, rippling like fabric for a moment, before it was drawn away, swirling, into the centre of the sphere. It formed the lower half of a distorted, tiny figure. The sphere, now a clear white, sparkled slightly as it zoomed in on the bluish image. It was a person, a woman, dressed mostly in blue drapes, with untidy black hair. Behind her lay a mountain range and, in the centre of the mountains, there was a huge, metal tower, a construct of sorts.

As the woman soared through the air, propelled by unknown means, the dark, foreboding tower started to light up, glowing, revealing a reddish symbol, a logo of sorts light up the top of the tower. Green energy started to rise out of the ground, a phosphorescent gas, entering the air and being drawn into the tower.

"Nibelheim" Vince murmured.

"The reactor" Yuffie identified.

But Vanille's attention was on another feature; she was watching the woman who had neared and lit up the tower/reactor. It was Fang.

But, from what Vincent and Yuffie had said, it was in this world. So that meant… Vanille paused, unable to believe it, and torn between fear and joy.

Fang was in this world.

X

The ever-present man, in the guise of a muscled man wearing purple and red, the first form Vanille and Aeris had met, took another step through a long, dark cave, bored.

"Annoyed the gods again?" a man clad in white robes commented to the side.

"What do you think Minwu?" the ever-present man sighed, making his way through the tunnel. "They know it's a waste of time landing me here, I still managed to get a message through to Vanille, and it's only a matter of time before I get out of Jade. You know, just `cos they hired you doesn't mean you get to brag"

"Quite the contrary. Bragging rights are all I have" the man in the white robes, the mage Minwu, chuckled. "Egotistical and short sighted, wasn't that what you said?"

"You were there?" the ever-present man turned and scowled a little, "You could've stopped them from transporting me here. It's a waste of time, that's what it is, and ya killing Gran Pulse"

"You haven't done too badly out of it" Minwu sighed, "You managed to record an event from Nibelheim by saving it into the Lifestream, adapted from technology in Spira, and made a materia near Vanille with the event inside it, just to warn her of the Fang in Nibelheim. That is how you did it right? And you achieved it all from Pandemonium, Castle of the fallen Lord of Hell. How many people could say that?"

"What are you trying to achieve Minwu?" the ever-present man stopped, turning to glare at the robed mage, "You unlocked Ultima twice and struck down the corrupted Emperor of Heaven making you one of the most strong willed spirits in the Lifestream and letting you become one of the gods, and yet all you do is stand by the sidelines and watch. Why?"

"Because I have to" he shrugged, "You're dangerous, you know that as well as I. Lose your temper in the wrong body and you could crack open the Void. You can't tell me every life you're living is sinless"

The ever-present man didn't respond. He just continued walking down the dreary stone passage.

"Exactly" Minwu nodded, "Look at that Rev you used to be; early on it would've happily-"

"I know, I know" the ever-present man grunted, "I'm not perfect, I never said I was."

"But it is a much greater risk for you than for any other. If you must know, I've been assigned to watch you, to make sure you don't harm the worlds"

"Harm them? I'm trying to help them!" the ever-present man scoffed, turning away from Minwu.

"But why?"

"You know the answer"

"I do, but say it again"

"Why bother?"

"You know the answer to that"

"I don't care"

"Say it"

"No"

"Say it, say why you want to help Gran Pulse"

"I said no"

"Say it now, C-"

"To pay a debt, alright?" the ever-present man span around, half shouting. "I tried to kill Lightning and the others, and I lied to so many more. I've hurt that world, I want to help it now"

"But how can you be sure you won't end up hurting it again?

The ever-present man looked away, silent. He had no answer.

X

Rumble. Rumble.

Lightning and Aeris had met up with Sazh, Hope and Snow just by the entrance to Sulyya Springs. From there, they'd decided to start the journey back to the Archelyte Step, and the base camp they'd made. With any luck they could find a way back to Cocoon from there. It was their best idea.

Rumble. Rumble.

That journey entailed a trip through ancient, abandoned Gran Pulsian mines and, to get to those mines, a ride on a fal'Cie called Atomos. Unfortunately, Fang was back in Oerba looking after Vanille, so they didn't have her assistance in catching the next, so they'd made do by trapping one of the younger Atomos. The chambers in those fal'Cie however were a lot smaller, naturally, and could only carry two people, three at a stretch.

Rumble. Rumble.

Hope had to be the third person as he was smallest, and Lightning point blank refused to go in the same Atomos as Snow. Hope wanted to go with Snow, seeing him as a replacement father, and Lightning picked Aeris as an Atomos partner over Sazh.

Rumble. Rumble.

So now Aeris was curled up inside an Atomos, pressed against one wall, with Lightning pressed against the other, as they rolled at breakneck speed through the winding tunnels. Hope, Snow and Sazh were ahead of them, in the next Atomos.

Rumble. Rumble.

Aeris closed her eyes, wishing she could hear the familiar, comforting tones of the Planet once more. She would've given anything, just to hear one word.

"Sorry about earlier" Aeris looked up at Lightning, wincing at the Atomos ran over a bump.

"I'd hope so" Lightning stared at the featureless wall in the pitch black chamber.

"You're more than a soldier, I never saw that. Like when you're with Hope"

"Do we really need to talk?"

"What else should we do?" Aeris shrugged.

Rumble. Rumble.

"Think. In silence" Lightning muttered.

There was a moment's pause in the darkness, before a sigh. "Oh, alright. What do you want to say?"

"I don't know" Aeris shrugged. "What was Vanille like?"

"Didn't you say you met her?" Lightning seemed bored

"We didn't get much of a chance to talk"

"Fine" Lightning groaned, "What about her?"

"Who was she? Was she nice?"

"Vanille was…different. You do know how our world is structured right?"

"Hope told me: Cocoon and Gran Pulse"

"You sure it wasn't Fang? Only she says Gran Pulse"

"Vanille was the first person to say it. I guess it stuck" Aeris giggled slightly, shrugging

"I can believe that. She came from Pulse-"

"Gran Pulse"

"Fine, Gran Pulse, but she blended in just fine on Cocoon. It was amazing really, you wouldn't know it but she thought about things. More than I thought she would anyway. She looked like she lived just for the sake of it" Lightning sighed almost tenderly. Aeris was surprised at the sudden display of emotion, "I never talked to her as much as I wanted to. She was the only one of us who really knew what she was doing, she was a lot deeper than I gave her credit for"

"She sounds nice" Aeris sighed, feeling suddenly guilty for being responsible, however indirectly for Vanille being taken.

Rumble. Rumble.

"I'm sorry for-" Aeris began

"Don't blame yourself" Lightning cut in quickly, "I know Snow, I can see the signs. It wasn't your fault Vanille's gone. Blame that ever-present man of yours"

"Thanks" Aeris smiled softly, sadly.

Rumble. Rumble.

Aeris let her eyes droop shut. She hadn't been sleeping well here, though whether it was the unfamiliar terrain or the sheer silence of the planet was anybody's guess. Well, Lightning wanted silence she supposed.

Exhaling slowly, Aeris closed her eyes.

"I take it you have a question?" A voice stated calmly. Aeris opened her eyes to see the Lifestream. She turned to see a man clad in white robes.

"The ever-present man?" she queried

"Afraid not, I do know him though. My name's Minwu, I come from one of the worlds he's in. Well, he is in them all. I can answer a few more of your questions than him"

"Minwu?" Aeris tilted her head, "How does the ever-present man know me?"

"I'm afraid he will have to reveal that. He is entitled to his secrets, but simply put one of his incarnations was your friend?"

"Is it Cloud? Tifa? V-"

"I'm sorry" Minwu interjected calmly, "I cannot say. I must respect his wishes"

"Ok" Aeris was slightly disappointed, "Why did he need to bring me across?"

"Is it not obvious? You are a Cetra. Gran Pulse needs a Cetra"

"Why did Vanille need to go?"

"Ah, that is a good question" Minwu nodded, "To answer, I must beg your indulgence for a brief minute as I explain history. Vanille and Fang, the l'Cie in the blue sari, are gifted with the power to become a creature known as Ragnarok. Ragnarok is analogous to the being you know as Jenova: its only purpose being to destroy. Many centuries ago, Ragnarok was created"

"Vanille…" Aeris paused, gasping, "_became_ Ragnarok. Is that what you said?"

"Fang was the one who transformed, I'm sorry to say. The creature, by its very existence, stole what could be referred to as the soul of the world by its mere existence. As you no doubt saw, that disrupted the rhythm of the Lifestream. Imagine Meteor. The soul of the world is Holy. With the loss of the soul, death is descending, slowly, very slowly, the Lifestream is dying."

"What's this got to do with Vanille?"

"I'm sorry, I though it was obvious. As the spirit of Ragnarok was cast out of Fang, it sought refuge so as to not vanish entirely. It moved to the nearest world which was rich in Lifestream. That world was yours; the closest world with surviving Cetra. We attempted to trap it in the Lifestream, but with the ever present man's meddling, it slipped through"

"There are more Ancients?" Aeris gasped, only that part of the speech catching her attention.

"To use the term loosely. Every world has an equivalent. In all they are revered, often in little more than myth. For example, in my world they sealed away that which I gave my life to access, in another they buried a feat of engineering beneath a desert, and in yet one more they inhabited a long dead city that fell in a war, preserved only in memory and dreams. I am afraid your world was the nearest with existing Ancients, and now Ragnarok, bearing the guise of Fang, is in your world, draining the Lifestream. Vanille is there to appeal to the remnant of Fang within the abomination, else your world shall also fall."


	8. Transformations

**Cliffhangers, crystal and confusion. And Cetra but that doesn't start with the right sound. **

"We're here" Lightning's words brought Aeris spiralling out of the Lifestream.

The Cetra opened her eyes, looking to the sides. A dim light was seeping into the Atomos, illuminating the wrinkles in the metallic, dull walls. She blinked a few times, still unused to the sudden transition between the Lifestream and the world. As Aeris's sight become more focused, she turned to the left, seeing Lightning, Snow, Hope and Sazh already standing outside the Atomos, waiting. Aeris jumped out, just before the Atomos continued whirling on.

"Where are we now?" Aeris looked around, in wonder at the awe inspiring stone arches and defunct machines.

"Mah'habara, old mineral mines" Lightning was the first to reply. "Abandoned, save for mad machines and monsters."

Aeris sighed: always monsters. It seemed, wherever she'd go, there were always creatures after her. In Midgar it was Shin-ra and the Turks, and here everything was infested with monsters. The rock roof above them shattered, boulders rolling to the sides. Hope and Lightning were the first to react, constructing via magic, a barrier, deflecting the falling rocks. The stones rolled away, incinerated by Sazh as the dust cleared.

A dragon like creature roared, barely visible through the haze of shattered stone. There was a blur of violet as the creature recoiled.

Aeris moved out of the way, wishing she had materia.

A blur of pale blue leapt down, a flash of red, and the shield cracked. A human form landed smoothly, knees bent on the ground.

"Thanks Bahamut" the person looked up through untidy black hair, as the purple dragon creature seemed to vanish into a spark of light.

"Fang?" Hope said

"Who were you expecting?" she turned, whirling her spear as she put it away

"Aren't you meant to be guarding Vanille?"

"She's doing a good enough job of that herself. It's probably `cos she wasn't meant to turn to crystal, but it's spreading. Most of Oerba has turned to crystal"

"How is that possible?" Aeris was amazed, though almost certain the ever-present man was to blame. Did he mean it though? From what she'd seen of him, he didn't appear malevolent. He just seemed, well, misguided, especially in aggressive forms.

"You're asking me?" Fang's eyes widened, "Blame whoever turned her to crystal, they turned the crystal into a weed"

"How far has it spread?" Lightning seemed businesslike.

"Half way up Taejin's Tower. I'd say we've got a couple of days before it reaches us, so let's get a move on!"

Aeris frowned, wondering what other ill effects the ever-present man had unintentionally caused. He'd crystallized Vanille, but made a mistake doing so, and no the crystal was spreading. She didn't want to think about what could have happened to Vanille.

Despite Hope's attempts to start a dialogue, Fang had already started marching further into the minds, with just the comment: "We have to help Vanille, so why might as well get Aeris to Cocoon somehow."

The start of the journey into the mines passed in silence, Fang stomping through, spinning her spear occasionally. Most of the time, she twiddled her fingers and sent spells burning through the air.

In one thin, long, straight tunnel, Fang stuck her spear out to the side, bringing the rest of the party to a halt.

The lightning in front of them was extinguished, turning the tunnel into a pitch black hollow. But there was still a steadily flickering white flame, about half the size of a human, just visible in the darkness. It appeared to be part of a lantern. A transparent glass case was just visible in the dim light.

"Looks like you did need me after all" Fang murmured. There was a noise resembling a crowd whispering, a soft, almost ghostly gargle of many, many voices.

"What is it?" Lightning unsheathed her blade, wary.

"Very rare. A fal'Cie, one that doesn't do anything but seems to be stronger than all the others."

Aeris stepped to the back of the group, unwilling and unable to fight.

The fal'Cie stepped into the dim light. It was around twice the height of a human, but it didn't appear oversized. It had a round, thick head with bulbous, faceted yellow eyes, no pupils, just golden hemispheres surveying them eerily. It wore a deep grey robe, with two pincer like hands, skin perfectly smooth, emerging from beneath the majestic fabric. In all, it looked exactly like a tonberry, only with dark blue skin, and a grey cloak. In one hand it gripped a lantern, the flame within it a pure, shimmering white, and in the other hand it tightly grasped a familiar tonberry knife.

"We call it Amok" Fang muttered, running forwards and leaping high into the air, spear raised.

The Amok moved slowly, precisely, locking its gaze, the spherical golden eyes, straight onto Fang. She froze in midair for a brief moment before suddenly screaming and being flung back.

Still moving slowly, the Amok turned back to the main group. Aeris felt as if its eyes were boring straight into her very soul.

Slowly, the Amok lifted the knife, not moving to attack but, at bits distance of ten metres, pointing the tip of the blade towards Aeris.

It took one, undisturbed, gradual step forwards.

"No!" Lightning shouted, sprinting along the ground and raising her blade, bringing it down on the Amok's wide bladed knife. There was a sickening shriek as metal rubbed metal, a few sparks of static, before the Amok lifted its wrist less than a centimetre. Lightning was also flung far back.

Sazh, Snow and Hope stood at Aeris's side as, once more, still unruffled, the silent Amok pointed the tip of its blade at Aeris. Its emotionless, gold, jewel-like eyes continued to stare.

Hope and Snow moved in front of her, as if to protect her from the Amok.

Still registering no emotion, the Amok repeated its action, pointing the tip of its blade at Aeris, and moving the knife back, gesturing towards itself. The grey robe was blown in some unseen breeze with the action, and an odd rune appeared on the surface of the knife, composed of reflected light.

The rune was one Aeris recognized instantly: it depicted Meteor.

"You…" she whispered, amazed, "You're connected to the Planet"

Still silent, the Amok inclined its bleak azure head.

Snow and Hope both turned to look at her, slightly surprised. Sazh blinked in shock right behind her.

"Please, let me go" Aeris spoke faintly, moving slowly past Hope and Snow, almost in a daze. The Planet…at last! Contact with some aspect of a Planet. She didn't even know which Planet it was: Cocoon or Midgar, the Meteor could just be a symbol she'd recognize.

As Hope, Snow and Sazh watched, amazed and aghast, Aeris walked next to the silky weave of the Amok's cloak. The Amok turned, revealing a small navy fish-like tail as it paced away, hiding Aeris from view with the same grey threads.

X

Vanille stared from the deck of the _Shera_, down at what was once the Forgotten City. According to Cloud, Aeris was there, or her body was at least. But it didn't look like that normally, apparently.

A structure like a sea shell had grown around it, made of pure crystal. The clear crystal spiralled upwards, spiralling to a point near the top of the valley the Forgotten City lay in. It resembled the crystal around Lucrecia, around all l'Cie.

On the deck beneath the airship, Vanille, Yuffie, Vincent and Tifa stood, peering down. Cid and Cloud were inside, piloting the ship.

"Hold on to something!" Cid's voice crackled through the intercom as the _Shera _slanted. Vanille grabbed onto the railings at the edge of the observatory platform. Yuffie squealed slightly as the airship descended, moving closer to the crystalline city. Vincent had retreated into the main body of the airship, not willing to be caught by the tilting ship.

Vanille tripped again, this time just managing to keep hold of the railing. As she pulled herself up, she shot a look behind the airship. And gasped.

The instant she straightened, there was a screech and the _Shera _shuddered.

"Dammit!" Cid swore, "More of the creatures"

A Gran Pulsian wyvern screeched, twirling away as another crashed into the airship. Yuffie leapt, nimbly clambering along the side of the airship, trying to get a better view of the creatures attacking the side of the ship. A brief few seconds passed with Yuffie out of few, before she leapt back onto the observatory deck, pale, and ran inside the _Shera_.

"Come on guys!" she called, as the floor thudded as she ran away from them.

Shrugging, Tifa followed, climbing the ladder into the ship. Vanille followed, leaving the juddering deck empty.

Vanille followed Tifa, who was running through the maze of corridors to a window at the back of the _Shera_. Tifa stopped running after a minute or so, literally skidding into a room as the airship shook.

Vanille entered the room. Light flooded out from a huge pane of glass; glass showing the situation behind the airship, further from the Forgotten City.

Wyverns formed a huge fleet, like a funnel of black smoke, coming out from the ground in the distance. They were soaring through the sky; a few dozen were near the airship, and a few were bumping into it. By now, several were gliding past the airship.

On the ground, small behemoths with Adamantoises towering over them were stomping along the ground. The Adamantoises moved a colossal distance with each, slow, step. The behemoths were like water; a current of them, rolling along the ground, unstoppable, pushing around trees and stones.

An Atomos rocketed by, the only fal'Cie Vanille could see, for now, shooting towards the Forgotten City. That's where they were all heading. It seemed every creature from Gran Pulse had the urge to go to the Forgotten City: except Vanille, but then again, Vincent had partly bonded her to this world. That being said, her Stigma did twinge a bit when she pressed it hard enough, and the brand on her thigh appeared like a faded bruise.

An Adamantoise took one step closer, gargantuan tusk rising dangerously close to the airship. Cid drove the airship forwards, trying to ascend as the wyverns rammed it.

"You s-" Cid shouted, unintentionally through the speaker, before there was a loud rustle and a thump.

There was a moment's more silence as the Gran Pulsians creatures moved closer to the Forgotten City. The _Shera _glided smoothly, for once, for a brief few seconds.

"This is Cloud" the speakers buzzed, voice coming through with less of a disturbance than before, "You'd better get up her."

The intercom system fell silent again.

"Ooh, that Cloud" Yuffie pouted, being one of the first to start to leave the room, "Never says anything."

Once again, Vanille started weaving her way through the hostile looking metal corridors of the _Shera_. They ascended several stair cases, passing grates and automatic doors, which slid open as they walked past. She followed Yuffie and Tifa through the shaking route until they burst into the main control room.

The first thing Vanille noticed was Cloud piloting the ship. The next thing she noticed was Vincent tightly holding on to the wall. The third thing she noticed was that Cid was nowhere. The final thing she noticed was that, in the huge room, there was a curved wall, much like the other, made solely out of glass. There was an Adamantoise stomping past, and a swarm of wyverns circling the Forgotten City.

The centre of the glass window what shattered, a huge hole, probably made by an Adamantoise tusk, but gaping in the centre of the glass.

"Where's Cid?" Vanille asked, dreading the answer.

"Adamantoise broke through" Cloud hesitated a little, pointing towards the maw in the glass. "He-he tried to get rid of it, a-and fell" Cloud was hiding his sadness well, but he was stuttering slightly. He looked away from them, not letting the others see his face.

"No!" Tifa shouted, running up to the hole in the glass, just as the Shera shook as something huge collided with it. The vibration coursed through the airship, throwing Tifa slightly into the air as she looked won through the hole in the glass.

Vanille tensed, grabbing hold of a console. She didn't know what it did; just, the roar of the Gran Pulsian beasts was getting to be too much, and the _Shera _was quaking as more and more creatures rammed it, until-

Silence.

Vanille looked around; she was still on the airship. Cloud, Vincent, Yuffie and Tifa, who was still staring shocked through the window, were around her, looking around, confused. The airship was still, unmoving. Even the flickering lights were frozen in place, but no one cared about that. The _Shera _was still, no longer ravaged by the savage Gran Pulsian creatures on their migration to the Forgotten City.

"What?" Yuffie squeaked, holding the word for several seconds. Vanille turned, facing where Yuffie was facing, towards Tifa. Tifa pointed a hand softly, scared, out the window.

The glow of dusk had faded. Instead, a pale green was shining through.

Outside the airship, the Lifestream pulsed, coursing around them, the soft, mesmerizing rhythm of life itself.

A figure rose from far beneath them, rising and moving backwards, arms flailing strangely, through the crack in the window. As they watched, the shards of glass on the floor lifted, repairing the crack. The body that came through the crack sat in the pilot seat, as Cloud moved out the way. After a brief, tense, worried second, Cid Highwind, pilot of the _Shera_, opened his eyes, surveying the room.

"What the hell you all doing here?" he demanded. Then his mouth fell open, cigarette falling from it, as he saw the Lifestream outside.

By now, Vanille was shaking slightly. Hadn't Cloud said Cid had fallen out? How was he here?

"You don't have to worry" a new, slightly arrogant voice, stated. A figure walked into the bridge of the airship. The newcomer was male, with a thin layer of brown stubble, thin framed glasses, long white gloves, a jacket that was mainly red with gold edges which descended to his shins, and huge boots, white with golden patterns ingrained on them, that ascended to half way up his thigh.

"I forgot that not all were as intelligent as I" he commented, seeming disappointed, before he turned and looked behind him, "Isn't that right?" he remarked to the empty air.

"Who are you, and how the hell did you get on my ship?" Cid was the first to speak.

"My man, I am the ever-present one. Do you intend to say Vanille never mentioned me?"

"Well, she did, but-" Tifa began

"Then is it so hard to recognize one more form?" the ever-present man's latest body sighed. "You're immune to Mako poisoning here. All the energy that enters this pathetic excuse for a ship is channelled here" he held up a small, glowing white crystal-like object.

"How did you save Cid?" Vanille asked, disliking this new persona

"You" he lifted his lip slightly as he surveyed Vanille, "If I was in your world, I would have taken control of the fal'Cie, put the world in the hands of man. No matter. I would not wish for Cid to die, would I? That it what matters. The Lifestream in timeless, it is the circle of beginning and ending. I simply moved the circle until the time he fell had not occurred" the arrogant ever-present man shrugged.

"When are you going to put us back?" Cloud asked from the edge of the room.

"My, so many questions. I'll return you when I wish for you to return, but you will not go to the Forgotten Capital. The exodus shall not be interrupted"

"But there are too many!" Vanille gasped, "This world can't support them all"

"Tough luck" he shrugged, "Neither can Gran Pulse."

There was a moment's more silence. The ever-present man turned, again gesturing, addressing what appeared to be empty years.

"Really? Yes, she is a most interesting specimen. Oh? Scientific curiosity, true, and it is a most unique opportunity." The disjointed words gave the crew of the _Shera _the feeling they were only hearing half the conversation.

"Yes" the ever-present man turned, locking eyes with Vanille, "A l'Cie who does not bear a brand, and yet bears the mark of the beast on her soul"

"The what?" Vanille tilted her head

"Some stains are never fully washed away. Some creatures never leave your mind, and you have one such being within you"

"Huh?"

The ever-present man did not explain. Instead, he raised the jewel, pointing to the space in front of Vanille. There was a slight glimmer as Lifestream seem to almost congeal in the air, an oval shape of liquid Lifestream appearing in the air. Before Vanille could react, the Lifestream shone brighter, before portraying an image as real as it was right in front of her.

"A hole in space" the ever-present man offered by way of explanation. For a brief instant, a smoky shadow was cast in the air behind him, and Vanille could've sworn she'd seen what appeared to be two glowing eyes.

Vanille frowned, before focusing on the image in the portal. It was a black cave, almost pitch black, buts he could recognize a few faces. The person at the front of a group was the most clearly visible; the rest were concealed in shadow. The face at the front was the only one Vanille needed to see; it was a woman, blocking the tunnel with a red pole.

"Fang!" she gasped.

Fang spoke, suspicious, cautious, almost scared, in the portal. "We call it Amok."

"Is this really happening?" Vanille tilted her head at the ever-present man.

"Of course" he nodded.

Anxious to see what was happening, Vanille looked back at the moving image.

It was focused on a creature in the shadows; a fal'Cie, one Vanille had heard of and dreaded. The Amok, judge of life.

Fang let out a battle cry, shouting, running across the ground. She lifted her spear high, read to bring it down on the Amok.

"No!" Vanille shouted, reaching out to the image. There was a pulse of darkness, evil looking smoke, exploding out from Fang as-

The image dissipated instantly.

"Bring her back!" Vanille cried, turning quickly to the ever-present man, "You have to tell me, what-"

"No" he spoke quietly, calmly, sinisterly.

"Please!" Vanille cried, "You've got to!"

"Must I really?" the man met her eyes, "Make me"

"Please…" Vanille fell to the floor.

"Well, well" the man seemed surprised, "You appear to have greater resistance than I suspected. No matter. Let us see a future, one that would occur if Aeris was not transported. In truth, it may still happen" the ever-present man lifted one hand, the hand with the jewel in.

Fang appeared in another Lifestream window, held in the air by red and black energy. It was like she was within a sphere; that sphere keeping her up.

A bolt of dark energy shot straight towards her. She threw her head back, screaming in pain for a few seconds, before slumping. A pale white light flooded into her. She looked up, almost hopeful, before another current of energy coursed through her and she screamed.

"Fang!" Vanille cried again, moving towards the horrendous image.

It vanished again.

"Please, you've got to-" Vanille turned, moving towards the ever-present man, desperate now.

"I thought I had told you: no. I don't change my mind"

"Listen to her" a deep voice from behind the man commanded. There was a click as Vincent, who'd been stealthily moving along the wall, pointed his gun to the ever-present man's head.

Silence washed through the _Shera _as Vanille, on her knees, watched the ever-present man. He seemed infuriated, though not by Vincent. Vincent Valentine stood just behind him, one hand raised with his gun ready to fire, trying to get him to stop the mental torture of Vanille.

"Really now?" the ever present man turned his head, staring straight into Vincent's red eyes. Another tense moment passed. The ever-present man squeezed the jewel in his hand. A pulse of light shot out of his hand, and a shadowy figure, which appeared to just be the upper torso of some smoky being with two shining yellow eyes, appeared for an instant. The pulse of light struck Vincent square in the chest, throwing him back across the airship.

"No!" Vanille cried, getting up to try and move towards Vincent.

"Stop" the ever-present man raised a hand.

"It would seem" he murmured, "It would seem we have found suitable motivation. Very well" the ever-present man lifted a claw-like hand, forming a window in the Lifestream again.

"This time, let us see the past."

The scene presented was a laboratory. There was a grey brick entrance behind them, a wooden floor, and shelves with an assortment of scientific equipment resting on them.

Two people stood in the tableau. The first was a man in a white lab coat, with bizarrely cut, long black hair, two strands going down the sides of his tanned face, with a long, thick ponytail going down his back. He was very, very thin glasses, and was laughing madly, holding up a silver gun.

The other person was standing on the other side of the gun. He was wearing a suit, and had short cut black hair. It was Vincent; a much younger Vincent it seemed.

Vanille couldn't identify the other man; but in the background, Cloud cursed a name: "Hojo."

The scene took a matter of seconds to play. With no seeming motivation, no reason, maybe no sanity, the man in the lab coat, Hojo, pulled the trigger. The bullet shot through the air, striking Vincent. The younger Vincent collapsed, breathing heavily, to the floor. Hojo began laughing again, as if it was all some big joke.

"No!" Vanille shouted again. Her voice was the loudest out of the series of gasps around her. She felt sick, and cringed as if the bullet had hit her instead.

Another portal appeared behind her, showing the exact same scene from a different angle, this time featuring the background of a glass container.

Bang.

"No!" Vanille screamed again, as both windows portrayed the scene.

The ever-present man watched impassive, uncaring, as he opened up more and more windows. Circles rimmed with pale green flickering into existence, a multitude of shots, gunshot after gunshot. Vincent fell to the ground hundreds of times each second, while Vanille turned, spinning around, trying to escape the walls of windows.

"Stop it!" Vanille gasped, covering her ears from the same gunshot, repeated over and over.

"Why? It's working, is it not?" the ever-present man taunted, seemingly unbalanced, from the edge of the room.

Yuffie's shuriken span through the air, moving through several portals but only making them ripple, as if they were water. It scraped one of the walls, and Cid yelled something about paintwork, as Vanille fell to her knees.

She normally considered herself a gentle person, a happy person, but the noise of shot after shot was threatening to break that tradition. Bang. Bang. Bang. She curled up and, after realizing the noise wouldn't stop, she got to her feet, eyes blazing, shaking slightly, scared by the fear and anger within herself.

"Stop!" Vanille cried out again, wishing she could do something, wishing she was still a l'Cie so she could release her anger with spells or the like.

"Come on then!" the ever-present man cackled, "Make me stop, see if you can! Come on!"

"I…" Vanille stumbled slightly, at the base of the stair case that lead to this twisted ever-present man.

"Fine" he rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, "If that's not enough, watch the future" a new recording appeared in front of Vanille.

This scene was set in some mansion, a dusty room, probably a very old one. Vincent was standing there, gun at the ready, dressed as he was now, as he faced off against the woman. The woman wore red, just red, and had two, also red. She had short, blood coloured hair. In one fluid motion, she darted several metres across the floor and, at a blinding speed, thrust her hand into, practically through, Vincent's chest.

The scene cut to black.

"Why are you doing this?" Vanille gasped, terrified by the scene as it repeated over and over

"Because it works. How long will it be now?" he tilted his head to the empty air. There was a flicker of the same odd shadow-creature.

"Time to try something else" the ever-present man muttered, irate, "You can't hurt me, and this form has died, but even I won't wait forever for a response" he vanished.

Vanille looked around, stunned, before the _Shera _was wracked by a shudder. She looked around, stopping as the stared out the huge window. They were back in the real world; out of the Lifestream.

"It's Cosmo!" Yuffie shouted, peering down at the window, "Back at Cosmo Canyon. Wonder if the materia's any better"

"Is that all you think about?" Tifa rolled her eyes

"Of course!" Yuffie chirped, before frowning, still staring down the window. "Not good"

"What is it?" Tifa took a few bounds across the ground as Cid checked all the consoles, too see if they were working, and Cloud paced around the room.

"The lifestream's opening again. I blame that psycho" Yuffie replied, darting back.

Vanille's eyes widened. She ran towards the window, desperate to see, and to find out what had changed the ever-present man so much. Was it another of the personality changes from form to form, that he'd mentioned?

Slowly, another flying contraption rose from a pool of Lifestream, emerging from one of the countless other worlds, rising. It hovered, ascending until it was the same level as the _Shera_. The main body of the other airship appeared like any other ship; well, a ship of the sea more than of the air. It looked the same as a sea ship really, except for one difference; instead of sails, huge propellers, like helicopter blades, were atop each of the three masts.

In the centre of the deck stood the ever-present man. Vincent was lying, barely conscious, by his feet. The ever-present man bent his knees, picking up Vincent. He took three steps forward, until he was standing right on the edge of the deck. He smiled.

The two airships were a long, long way from the ground; hovering above empty plains, the nearest city, Cosmo Canyon, a kilometre or so away.

The strange shadow appeared behind the ever-present man. It seemed slightly more corporeal now; waves of mist were rolling down from a form which appeared to be grey, hard ivy. It had broad shoulders, and a thick neck, extending to the head. The head was barely there; there was an outline, the same grey solid mist material, with a kind of halo across the back of its neck. The face however was just a black void, with two shining orange eyes glaring out.

Half a minute passed, slow, tense. Cloud walked back, leaving the console room. Vanille stared through the glass window at the airship. Vincent lifted his hand weakly. Cid kept the _Shera_ steady, while trying to get the weapons to subtly fire. Tifa kept herself pressed against the wall, staying out of the way of whatever would happen. Yuffie was, well, Yuffie, keeping out the way but plotting to take the jewel the ever-present man was holding.

"What happened to you?" Vanille murmured, sad, as she stared at the ever-present man.

"This is a somewhat unique form. It carries the mind of another" the ever-present man's voice carried through into the airship.

In the next few seconds, four things happened almost simultaneously.

The ever-present man dropped Vincent, letting him fall the huge distance to the ground. A swirl of Lifestream appeared behind the ever-present man as another man stepped out of it. Vanille gasped, running and leaping an alarmingly distance into the air, surrounded by chains of fiery light. And Cloud moved quickly into the control room, with the red clad figure of Vincent Valentine on his shoulder.

"It's an illusion!" Cloud shouted. Vanille, high in midair turned, eyes widening for a brief moment before the anger that had been coursing through her overtook her rational thought. The blinding fiery orange light drew closer, wrapping itself around her as she twirled through the air, smashing through the glass window of the _Shera_, twirling down towards the fading, illusion Vincent.

The ever-present man laughed on the deck of his airship.

"Ragnarok!" he sounded insane, "I wondered how such an event would play out. And an illusion is such a perfect way"

"You know much of illusions" a soft, almost melodic voice drifted out from the Lifestream opening behind him. "For one who is unable to break his own"

"Minwu!" the ever-present man spat, turning to see the white clad mage,

"You must be the doctor. I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting your particular incarnation, he usually seems to gravitate towards being an engineer" Minwu seemed thoughtful.

"I am he, do not refer to me as separate, even if those others are fools"

"But you are not he. You, my friend, are twisted. Do you not recall what I said of your illusions? You are living in one: this is not your mind, this is the fear fed on by V-"

"Do not dare say his name" the ever-present man snarled.

"Just because you've escaped hell doesn't mean the others shall not return you there"

"Take me there" the twisted ever-present man spread his arms, "I will escape again and again. I may even seize control, like Mateus before me"

"Do not presume so. Though I can guarantee you, this form will be refused entry into the true Lifestream. It has been too corrupted" Minwu rested a hand on the ever-present man's shoulder.

Lifestream was drawn from the air around them, shining light condensing until it formed a huge sphere of the green waves. The sphere started to shrink, becoming a shining white, until it became little more than a pinprick, and vanished, taking its occupants to some unknown place.

Far, far below that, the shining light that had once been Vanille pulled up, breaking from the dive as the image of Vincent faded. The light cracked, shaken off, and a screech pierced the air. It was the creature the ever-present man was trying to create: Ragnarok. It shot up through the air, passing the now-transported airship, an insane, uncontrolled creature.

Far, far within its mind, Vanille lay dormant, feeling guilt at her anger and a sick fear of Vincent falling.

"That's some materia" Yuffie nodded slowly, staring out the window of the _Shera_, in awe of Ragnarok

"I don't think that's materia" Tifa replied, not taking her eyes off the distant orange spark.

"Whatever it is" Cid began, bringing the _Shera _about, "It's not getting away" he yanked a lever down, and the airship started to shoot at a high speed through the air.

"You're chasing that thing?" Yuffie tore her eyes away from the window, looking, slightly worried, at Cid

"`Course" for once, Cid didn't light a cigarette as he focused on keeping the speeding _Shera_ level, "Whatever that is, it used to be a passenger. Name one time I ever left any of yous' behind"

Slowly, Vincent staggered, bruised from that twisted incarnation of the ever-present man's assault on him. He pulled himself up to a console near Cid, resting his gloved hand on the panel, and stretching the fingers in his gauntlet.

"Whaddya want?" Cid muttered to Vincent, still fiddling with the controls

"Give up" Vincent rolled his eyes, voice slightly hoarser than normal

"Now look here-"

"That creature is faster than this airship. You're never going to catch up"

"I can sure as hell try" Cid yanked another lever down, giving the _Shera _another burst of speed as Ragnarok shot further away. "Besides, you got any better ideas?"

"Yes" Vincent replied, sweeping his cloak back.

A moment later, a creature with crimson bat-like wings shot through the already shattered window.

Chaos.


	9. Light

**Here's the next part! Sorry it took so long. I've been very busy, and add writer's block and another fic into the equation and things get hectic.  
Useless fact: I'm trying to give cameos to as many characters as possible, without cheapening the story.**

Vanille gasped, opening her eyes wide and sucking in what air she could. She felt like she'd been at the bottom of the sea for hours; losing air and crushed by the pressure.

She looked around. She was on a field, a clear, healthy field. With flowers. Lots of flowers.

"You came" a soft, kind, female voice said. She could hear it smile.

"Aeris?" Vanille turned, catching half a glance of the flower girl before it all faded to white.

Vanille sat up suddenly, gasping for air. She was on a field again, but it wasn't that healthy. In fact, it wasn't really a field; just empty desert and bare stone. No plants, nothing.

How did she get here?

Frowning, Vanille moved to stand up, gasping slightly as she put pressure on her tender legs. She looked down. The Stigma was back; the aching discolouration engulfing most of the lower part of her body.

How…

She put most of her weight on her hands as she shuffled along the ground, moving along the sand.

What was the last thing she remembered? She mused for a few seconds, before gasping again. She had been on the _Shera_…then something had happened. Oh, what was it? She closed her eyes, trying to focus.

The ever-present man had appeared, she remembered that much. A twisted version, one of the more evil incarnations, with some kind of shadow above it. Then…

"Ragnarok!" she said aloud, surprised and afraid.

She didn't think she'd had that in her. She didn't want to think she had that monster in her. And yet…and yet she'd turned into it, become the creature that had almost destroyed Cocoon. She had….

"No!" Vanille tried to stand up quickly, failing and falling, as fear washed through her.

There was no life around her: no plants, no people, just bare stone. Ragnarok could do that. That was the whole point of Ragnarok, the Destroyer. It, well, destroyed. Had she…

How much harm had she done to this world? Had she…

"Hello?" Vanille cried out, wishing she could remember her time as Ragnarok.

Silence.

She scrambled along the sandy floor, wincing as she put pressure on her infected knees. A few metres away there was a scrap of metal. She grabbed it, flipping it over. It was bent out of shape, and severely dented, but there was just about legible writing on it. It was a sign, or rather it used to be.

_Seventh Heaven_

Vanille gasped, dropping the sign. That was…that was Tifa's bar. In Midgar. Well, in Edge, but that was practically Midgar.

Vanille looked around the empty wilderness. Was this place…Midgar? Had she…had she done this?

A low wailing noise slowly sounded, growing in intensity, a groan that seemed to encompass all the pain and suffering of the world. It emanated from the very rock beneath her, a cry of pain.

"Hear the cries of the Planet" a deep, rich voice murmured. Vanille turned, to see a man with long white hair, clad in black leather. It was the same person she'd been seeing in those GeoStigma visions.

"Sephiroth" Vanille squeaked, recalling what Vincent had called him.

"My Reunion is at hand" the man raised a long, long, thin sword, bringing it slicing through the air-

There was a flash of green as the figure dissolved into Lifestream. Before Vanille could respond, a short figure rose from the sand, formed by more of the green Lifestream. It was an old man, wearing a blue coat.

"Ho ho hoooo!" the small man spoke, "It would seem the Planet has decided to speak to you, my child. Heed its words"

"What's happening?" Vanille was slightly scared

"You're dreaming, but soon you will wake. The Planet decided that you should be one of the few non-Cetra to be allowed to converse with it"

The image of the desert started to fade in a blur of Lifestream.

"Oh, and please" the man spoke again as he started to fade, "If you see him, please tell Nanaki that Bugenhagen is proud of him"

The man, Bugenhagen apparently, closed his eyes as the Lifestream surged, as yet another dream-world faded.

Vanille opened her eyes, feeling energy leave her body. She was tired, very tired. That probably meant it wasn't a dream; you couldn't get tired in dreams, that would be counter-productive.

There was something pinning her to the ground. Some kind of stone cave, and she felt tired, weary. Transforming to Ragnarok took a lot out of you; but at least, she supposed, she'd gotten better.

She tilted her head, looking at the creature that was pinning her down. She couldn't make out much detail; it was night, and as she turned the creature leapt off her. It looked humanoid, but she could see two wings as it distanced itself from her.

Vanille pulled herself up, tenderly pressing her thigh. The Stigma was back, definitely, and it had spread to her knees: not quite as bad as the last vision, but still tender. Well, Ragnarok was a suitably alien threat she supposed.

"And I thought my demons were bad" a voice murmured. Vanille turned, taking in her surroundings as she did so: she was in a plain field. Well, not really a field, more a stone plain. There was no plant life; just hardened mud to form a rocky ground. Several natural rock formations surrounded her.

"Vincent?" she tilted her head, watching a silhouette approach her.

"For now" he responded, kneeling down next to Vanille. "You turned"

"Turned?" Vanille frowned, "Oh" she leapt a little in the air, deciding it was a bad idea as her GeoStigma hit the ground again, "You mean Ragnarok… What did I do?"

"First, you tell me what it was"

"It's Ragnarok. Some l'Cie can turn into it when they get angry…it destroys" she looked down, sad

"It did no harm"

"How? It never stopped before"

"Chaos. My demon is like yours. I followed you and pinned the demon down until you came back"

"How long did it take?"

"A day or so."

"I'm sorry" Vanille quickly apologized, "I didn't mean to"

"Chaos doesn't tire" Vincent replied, as if accepting the apology, "Though I would like to know one thing"

"What's that then?"

"You said you transformed when you were angry. Shouldn't it have happened in the first image he showed?"

"The ever-present man?" Vanille tilted her head. Vincent nodded. "Well" she continued, "you have to be really overwhelmed to become…" she didn't want to finish the sentence.

"The illusion of me overwhelmed you?"

"Well" Vanille started, about to say something before realizing there was no real response. "Um…"

"It had to be a surprise" Vincent mused, "You weren't expecting my earlier death. That's enough to 'overwhelm' anyone"

"You saw the windows?"

"No. Cloud told me. I never heard what was in the illusion after"

"It was you again" Vanille looked away from him, straightening her sitting posture. "There was someone else, she…she killed you"

"I doubt it."

"It's true!" Vanille protested, "She put her hand through-"

"I meant it's not that easy. Chaos is in me, remember? The demon has uses, including healing"

"I don't understand why you're so grotty about Chaos. It's been pretty useful!"

"It's good when I can control it."

"You're lucky" Vanille sighed

"How so?"

"You can control yours. Ragnarok just takes me over. There's nothing I can do"

"Chaos wasn't easy to tame. Lucrecia had to implant a materia in my chest before I could survive the demon"

"We have no way to control Ragnarok. The last time it flew Cocoon was cracked"

"Before Chaos was in me, it killed my father"

"Huh?" Vanille's grip on the ground lapsed at those words, and her GeoStigma contacted the ground as she fell.

"My father and Lucrecia discovered Chaos in the cave where she's now crystallized. In the lab, Chaos went mad, striking my father. I carry my father's murderer within me."

"That's…horrible"

"I deserve it. Penance for my sins"

"No one deserves that" Vanille replied, getting up and sidling closer to Vincent, being careful not to put pressure on her Stigma.

"I do. I was supposed to protect her, and yet I stood by as Hojo raped her and made her conceive Sephiroth. I sinned and nothing will repay that"

"No…" Vanille tensed, feeling almost physically sick. She'd met Lucrecia, a Lifestream projection in the crystal cave. She was kind and gentle, she didn't deserve to be…

"I'm sorry" Vanille murmured, feeling inadequate.

"Don't be. It was my fault. I let the woman I loved become the mother of the Destroyer. Sephiroth doesn't even see her as his mother: he thinks only of the cells she was injected with, Jenova"

"I-" Vanille had no words. As he'd spoken, it felt as if a breath of air had been knocked out of her. "She told you to move on. I thinks he's forgiven you"

"I haven't forgiven myself. I can't. She's the only one"

Vanille felt something within her start to ache, but she couldn't identify it. She just felt…was jealous the right word?

"Your Stigma's back" Vincent at last identified, looking at Vanille as she lay sprawled, not making eye contact, on the ground.

"You shouldn't be looking" she made a weak smile, unable to understand why she just felt so…so…broken. Like a toy that needed fixing, but just didn't have any spare parts. Just whirring on.

"Still got the crystal?"

"Huh?" Vanille looked up at him, not meeting his gaze, "What crystal?"

"The one that cured the Stigma" Vincent muttered.

"Oh!" Vanille nodded hastily, withdrawing the cool shard from her pouch. She leant forward to apply it to her legs, wincing slightly.

"Let me" Vincent took the crystal away with two fingers, before lightly dabbing it on her shin. She could barely feel it.

"About Lucrecia" Vanille began

"I don't want to talk about it"

"That's new"

"Really?" he seemed uninterested

"You never talk to Cloud and the others, but you always speak to me. And Lucrecia. Is it something about Gran Pulsians?"

"Does it matter?" he moved on to treating her other leg.

"Of course! And you're fine talking about what happened to her, but you don't talk about who she really was"

"You care, why?" Vincent sighed, "Lucrecia was brilliant. She was dedicated to her work, and she was beautiful. Happy now?"

"That's not what I meant" Vanille muttered, sullen, feeling more and more broken. "Lucrecia said she wanted you to move on"

"So you keep saying. She might be ready to. I'm not"

"Vince…"

"Don't call me that" Vincent moved on with the crystal, starting on the edges of her thighs.

"Why not?"

"Only Yuffie calls me that, and she has no right to."

"He's right there y'know" a peculiarly accented voice butted in.

"Reeve" Vincent looked up, moving on with the crystal to Vanille's stomach.

Vanille lifted her neck back, looking behind her seeing the speaker upside down. It was a small cat-thing, standing up. It had mostly black fur, with white over its middle, and it wore white gloves, two brown boots, a gold crown and a small red cape tied around its neck.

"Kitty!" Vanille grinned, reaching back and stroking its fur

"Watch it lassie!" the cat leapt back, "Fur ain't easy ta come by"

"Huh?" Vanille blinked, looking back up at Vincent

"Cait Sith" Vincent murmured, "Small robot controlled by Reeve of the WRO."

"Right!" the cat jumped up and down, hyperactive, "Cloud got me looking for ya. I'll tell him I found ya"

"That won't be necessary" another joined the conversation.

"And you are?" Vincent finished treating Vanille's Stigma and slipped the crystal back into her pouch

"Extremely sorry" the newcomer replied.

Vanille got to her feet, turning to look at the newcomer. It was a man, with brown, spiky hair and a spiky beard growing. He had prominent cheeks, striking green eyes, and wore plates of armour adorned with a blue cape coming down from his back, and a red ribbon descending from a sheathed sword. He carried a helmet, one with long horns, in his hands.

"Doesn't narrow it down" Vanille bent over, looking closely at the man

"I am a Judge. You know me as the ever-present-"

Before the phrase was finished, a gunshot echoed. Vincent stared coldly along the barrel of his weapon, watching the ever-present judge stumble slightly. As he stared, small strings of green Lifestream lifted from the ground, wrapping around the gunshot wound, tying the skin back together.

"Finished?" the ever-present man sighed, "I am sorry for what I've done. You should understand it more than anyone: a dark side you can't control. You have Chaos and Ragnarok, I have that doctor"

"Why should we trust you now?" Vincent stared across the barrel of his gun

"You shouldn't, that's why I came as a judge. They're generally held in high esteem where I come from, and, even if I say so myself, this one is held as a paragon of fairness"

"That means nothing here"

"I know, that's why I came with a gift. Do you mind lowering the gun? It's not as if you can actually hurt me with it"

"No one else is going to be hurt if I can stop it"

"Doesn't that statement include me?"

"You just said you couldn't be hurt"

"In that case, I congratulate you on your admirable promise. And I would again like to mention my gift" the ever-present man stepped forward, crouching as he put his helmet on the ground. "This is a judge's helmet, highly sought after in its native world. Usually it would be employed to enforce Laws. It will transport the wearer and those he or she touches to a destination of the wearer's choice"

"Sounds fun!" Vanille bounced forwards, snatching the helmet away while keeping her distance from the ever-present judge

"Be careful: it is only going to exist until I leave this world, so don't go anywhere too hard to escape. I'm leaving this world soon as it is: Minwu's escorting me to the Labyrinth of Time, which is a prison cut off from the Lifestream, meaning I'll actually have to walk out of it. I escaped him in the Chaos Shrine, nothing to do with Vincent, but he's following me. Use the helmet soon so I can continue fleeing please"

"Why are you helping us now?" Vanille crossed are arms behind her back, leaning forwards

"I said, I am truly, truly sorry for what my doctor incarnation did to you. And I can feel Minwu getting closer, so please use the helmet"

"We should head back to Cloud" Vincent murmured, keeping his gun trained on the judge.

"Uh-uh" Vanille shook her head. She knelt down next to Cait Sith. "Tell Cloud and the others to meet us by the crystal cave" she got up, fitting the helmet on her head and looking around strangely. "This is weird" she sighed, skipping over to Vincent and quickly putting her arms around him. The metal of the helmet bumped his shoulder.

"You're going to hear what Lucrecia said for yourself" she said through the helmet.

A black sphere expanded from the helmet, leaping out before condensing, giving off sparks of electricity, until it left nothing behind.

Cait Sith took a step forward, looking around. The ever-present man had also gone. Sighing, alone, the little mechanical cat turned and hopped along the ground.

X

Aeris took a slightly worried look up at the impassive face of the Amok. It guided her deeper into the mines, illuminating the way with its flickering lantern. The Amok lifted its arm, lantern swaying in an unfelt breeze.

A gargle of whispers sounded, hundreds, maybe thousands of voices whispering incoherently.

Aeris stopped, as she felt the pressure of the Amok's cloak lessen. She turned, to see the fal'Cie lift its lantern higher. The golden glow of its eyes grew stronger.

The Amok released its grasp of the lantern, stepping back. The lantern stayed where it was, levitating via unseen means. The white flame in the case grew brighter, splitting into two.

Aeris stared at the magical flame. A curl of fire grew larger, forming a spherical shape and turning to a bright green.

"Gran Pulse?" Aeris asked the Amok. It inclined its head, a nod, staying silent and still watching the images in the lantern.

The green sphere suddenly pulsed orange, a new streak of light shooting out from it. The orange spark grew in intensity, circling around the edges of the lantern, spinning madly around the symbol of Gran Pulse. Dust lay in the wake of the hyperactive spark, a trail slowly condensing into a yellow mass near the green of Gran Pulse. The yellow grew brighter, larger, until it was twice the size of the Gran Pulse orb. Pale wisps were drawn out from the green, a white light channelling from Gran Pulse into whatever the yellow represented.

In a flash, the orange spark shot across the interior of the lantern, crashing into the yellow mass. There was a burst of white light, one so bright it made Aeris cover her eyes, the whole lantern being illuminated by the same beam.

As the light faded, only Gran Pulse lay in the lantern; the solitary green sphere hanging, almost lonely, in the empty box.

Aeris continued staring at the vivid jade orb. It seemed to be frozen. Unmoving. As she watched, colour seemed to drain out of it. The bright green was replaced by a sickly, dull yellow, which in turn darkened, until the orb was just a ball, black as pitch.

Without the slightest sound, the now black Gran Pulse cracked, tuning to dust. The remnants spread away from each other slowly, drifting throughout the lantern.

"That's going to happen to Gran Pulse?" Aeris said shakily.

The Amok nodded, silent.

"What was that white light taken from it?"

The Amok paused, unsure of how to answer, before taking a graceful step forward and pointing one hand towards Aeris's torso

"It's heart?" Aeris looked back up at the Amok, "Gran Pulse lost its heart?"

The Amok nodded again

"Is that why the Lifestream is unbalanced?"

Again, it nodded.

"And you need me to help"

The Amok pointed again to the lantern.

There was now a flickering flame dividing the image into two. On one side there was a pale green light, like Lifestream, while on the other there was a white orb and two orange sparks.

"And that's…" Aeris paused, taking in the image, "I'm the green?"

The Amok nodded.

"The Lifestream. I have to fix the Lifestream?"

Nod.

"Is the other side Vanille?"

Nod.

"Is she the white orb?"

The Amok shook its head slowly, pointing again to Aeris's heart

"That's what the spark took? The heart? Oh! Minwu said. Does the orange show Ragnarok?"

The Amok slowly nodded.

"So, the heart, or soul Minwu said, of Gran Pulse is in my world, and Ragnarok is there twice?"

The Amok pointed to the lantern. Now there were only two orange sparks in the glass. One spark had a white sphere near it, while the other was chasing it around the lantern.

"Fang and Vanille" Aeris breathed, "But Minwu told me all this."

The Amok shook its head. It pointed again to the magical lantern.

The green orb of Gran Pulse was once again present in the hollow compartment. A yellow sphere swelled up next to it, growing bigger, drawing white energy from the orb. As Gran Pulse darkened, a white ball formed next to the yellow, and the orange Ragnarok shot through the orb and crashed into the yellow, all three colours vanishing in a flash.

"What's that yellow?" Aeris frowned.

The Amok again pointed at the lantern.

Within it, the yellow light was glimmering, as lines ran out of it, forming a series of strokes in the shimmering light. The flame flickered, the light sketching something. It had a series of oval shapes, joined by rectangles and lone lines. Eventually, the drawing was finished.

"An airship?" Aeris frowned, "An airship took Gran Pulse's soul?"

Silent, the Amok ignored her question, pacing straight past her. She stepped to the side, letting the fal'Cie move away, stepping slowly.

Aeris closed her eyes, trying to remember what she'd seen in the Lifestream, what she'd heard those years ago…

"The _Shera_?" Aeris called, remembering the name of the only airship she knew that was still functioning.

The Amok in the distance gave a small, barely perceptible nod. Its lantern hovered towards it, touching its waiting hand. As the Amok grasped the lantern again, it shuffled away further, vanishing into the dark of the mines to the cacophony of eerie whispers.

Aeris straightened a lock of her hair, trying to decide on a plan. She was going to go to Cocoon, see if she could speak to the Planet from there. If she saw Vanille, she'd tell her to look around the _Shera, _to find out whatever that had to do with the loss of this Planet's soul.

Just as Aeris turned to return to Lightning and the others, the whispers grew louder. The hushed voices seemed to follow the Amok everywhere, but now the soft cries had sprung up from the walls themselves, quietly speaking. They said one phrase in unison, before degenerating into a jumble of words and then to silence.

"Beware the Many-Faced One."

X

"Come on!" Vanille urged, pulling Vincent through the caves, tugging on his gauntlet with both her hands as she moved closer to the crystalline Lucrecia.

"Ever-present man dodgy crystal mumbo stuff, don't fail me now" she said in a singsong voice, firmly grasping one of Vincent's hands as she touched the cold surface of the crystal and closed her eyes.

Vincent let out a small gasp. Taking that as a good sign, Vanille opened her eyes. Sure enough, they were in the Lifestream, and Lucrecia was in front of them.

"Vincent!" the long displaced l'Cie gasped.

"Lu-Lucrecia?" Vincent seemed stunned.

"I never thought…." Lucrecia stopped speaking, abashed and confused.

"Right!" Vanille nodded, understanding. She turned to face away from the duo and put her hands over her ears, keeping them loose enough so she could still hear.

"Vincent" Lucrecia started speaking again, "You've got to forget about me. It's been thirty years and you still keep coming to this cave. That's not good"

"I don't care what's good any more" Vincent replied, staying still as if a movement would take him out of the Lifestream

"You should, I do. You're throwing your life away, no, I threw your life away thirty years ago when I put Chaos into you"

"Don't act like that. It wasn't because of you I… It was Hojo"

"I can't bear to hear his name. But it was my fault: your father and I were the ones who found Chaos and brought him to the lab. I was the one who put it into you…I'm…I'm so sorry"

"You know I don't blame you"

"Well you should. I'm trapped here anyway, what do you hope to gain by living in the past?"

"You're not my past. You're my present, my future, Lucrecia-"

"Don't! You can't say…"

"I have to. You are…I…"

Vanille closed her eyes. He was saying the right words, just to the wrong person. She'd brought him to here to help him move on, not to push him further back.

"Stop it Vincent" Lucrecia interrupted, seeming sad to speak the words, "It just won't work. Move on, you have to move on"

"You know it's not as easy as just saying it"

Vanille tried to stay still, not betraying her eavesdropping. She felt worse than she should've been feeling. As if….no. No. _No_. She hadn't been thinking, but she felt…as if…as if…

"It's not easy at all if you don't even try" Lucrecia sighed.

"I don't want to try"

"Vincent" she sighed, "You need someone who can understand you, not just a scientist who knew your father"

"You understand me"

"Why? Because I'm out of place? That's the problem: I'm not. I adapted, I got used to Midgar. You need someone who can understand you: you always act so alone, because you never find common ground with anyone. Who do you ever talk to? You spend all your time alone, pitying yourself, when you're just so, so different from everyone. Who could understand you, holder of Chaos and immortal"

Vanille suppressed a shiver at the last word.

"No one" Vincent admitted softly, "So who am I meant to find?"

"Someone who's living"

"You are alive. More than me"

"Please Vincent, I don't want to ruin your life any more"

"You can't ruin my life. I l-"

Vanille tensed. He'd almost said it. She didn't know what she'd do if he said that.

"Vincent" Lucrecia sighed again, "You love more than one person in a lifetime. It's a sad truth, and you were a Turk, you can't tell me you're a romantic"

Vincent opened his mouth to speak as the Lifestream surged. He looked around, the sea of green becoming darker.

"We're about to go back" Vanille exclaimed, still facing away from Vincent and Lucrecia.

"Please Vincent" Lucrecia pleaded, "Leave me, forget about me. Just…move on" Lucrecia hurried to finish the sentence as the Lifestream took Vincent.

"And Vanille?" the woman turned, the two l'Cie now alone in the green currents. "Look after him"

"I think he does that by himself" Vanille grinned, not really feeling the happiness

"Not what I mean. Normally someone would just walk on by, unless they wanted Vincent to move on. And you have an obvious reason for wanting him to move on"

"Were…were you telling him the truth?"

"Every word was true. I couldn't lie to Vincent. He needs to move on, and you seem to be the best way"

"I won't complain"

Vanille smiled, feeling the Lifestream rise. Soon she'd be back in the cave, with Vincent. Soon.

A new face broke into the surging Lifestream.

"Jei!" she cried, leaping back suddenly, seeing the ancient Cocoon dweller appear.

"Sorry for slowing down your travel back, I needed to say though, it wasn't for fault. I had to remind you"

"Why?" Vanille tilted her head.

Jei reached forwards, tapping one of her pouches. As the Lifestream rolled on, Vanille took a blue sphere out of her pocket. It was the orb Yuffie had identified as materia, found in the cave.

Another image played on it. Fang, or at least something resembling Fang, ran across an empty desert. As she did so, a spurt if green came out of the ground. It was another Mako Reactor as they'd been called last time, bursting into life.

Vanille opened her eyes to see the crystal cave, dizzy. She stepped forwards, panting, weak, vision blurring, pain coursing through her lower body.

Her Stigma. It wasn't staying neutralized for as long.

She gasped in pain, vision flashing black, before falling sideways.

The last thing she felt was crashing into a pair of arms waiting to catch her.


	10. Location

**Sorry it's been so long, my laptop and I have both been overheating, and when you add the sheer volume of distractions I've been having into the mix...  
Hopefully the next update should be quicker, but I'm in the middle of another fanfic and I'm trying to alternate between the two, so we'll see.  
I recently played Final Fantasy VII again (And beat Emerald Weapon for the first time! Wahoo!), so the settings and hopefully characters should be more realistic. Anyway, enjoy! **

"Are they okay?" Aeris asked urgently, walking over to where Hope, Sazh and Snow were tending to the unconscious Lightning and Fang.

"Just about" Snow was the first to speak, kneeling just above Fang. "Bruised, but what'd you expect after being thrown across the room?"

"I'm sorry" Aeris sighed, kneeling next to Lightning and helping Hope get her into a more comfortable position.

"What for? It's not your fault" Hope frowned at her.

"Thanks" she smiled softly, sitting back.

"Why're you thanking me?" Hope sat back too, "You've got nothing to feel guilty about."

Snow and Sazh at some point had finished moving Fang into a protected, comfortable position. Now they sat with Aeris and Hope the other side of the tunnel, listening to the whirring Atomos as they shot through the earth.

"We're setting camp up here" Snow at last said.

"About time we took a break" Sazh was the first to comment, laying back.

"Come on Sazh" Hope laughed, "It's not that hard."

"You're a kid, it's easier for you" Sazh stretched, rolling up next to the wall.

Aeris, feeling slightly guilty for being the reason the Amok had attacked, moved a few metres along the tunnel wall, away from the others. She tucked herself under a little rubble, hiding from the creatures native to the area.

"Goodnight then" Snow said, the last one to speak. Aeris didn't get a chance to see his hiding place.

"I'll be keeping watch" he announced next.

"I'll go next" Hope was the next to speak.

From then on, there was silence. Aeris closed her eyes, curling up and tensing in her hiding spot, mind whirring.

The experience with the Amok had frightened her, she wouldn't deny it. It had shown her the airship she'd sensed being assembled by Cid: one that wasn't powered by Mako. The _Shera_, and according to the Amok, the _Shera _had some link to whatever had started the decay of Gran Pulse.

Gran Pulse… She sighed, feeling the world beneath her with Cetra senses. The Lifestream wasn't regulated; it was being hoarded, taken in by Gran Pulse, like an overweight human. Taking in food and not exercising off the energy. The planet was taking in Lifestream and keeping it. None would be born. She could see the effects already; too little of Gran Pulse had even plant life. Simply arriving on the new world should've made her become infected by something: she wouldn't be used to any of the bacteria. But, like Midgar, the disrupted cycle of the Lifestream had killed off weaker life: the bacteria.

"Please, Planet" she whispered. Maybe Gran Pulse wasn't sentient like her world, but it evidently had some kind of instinct: the fal'Cie, especially the Amok, seemed to be like an immune system. She could even compare them to a form of Holy, trying to keep the world running. Even if some had the free will to be more like Meteor.

Actually, come to think of it, the fal'Cie were Weapon. Aeris's eyes widened at the thought: creatures made by the world, to protect the world.

There was no more to say. She could find similarities easily, the Planets had to run on similar systems after all. That didn't make it any easier to figure what she was supposed to be doing in the first place.

Well, that's why she was heading to Cocoon. Try and find out more, see if the Planet could speak there…

She was a Cetra, it had to mean something.

Cetra! Her breath quickened for a moment. She'd heard a little of her history, mostly from the Elders at Cosmo Canyon, but a little from the ShinRa. The Ancients stored their knowledge and passed it down through generations. In materia. And they could also experience the flow of the Lifestream and the babble of voices within.

Well, there was nothing better to do. It was worth a try.

Aeris opened her hand, closing her eyes and regulating her breathing. In. Out. In. Out. She felt the warmth of the lifestream's spirit envelop her. She kept her eyes closed, focusing like she'd focus on a dream, feeling it and yet not scrutinizing it too hard, as if afraid it would drift away.

Her open palm tingled. She could the waves of Lifestream, even a weaker Lifestream such as this one, lap across her arm, tickling, touching, condensing.

She prayed to whatever Planet was listening for something to reclaim the soul of Gran Pulse.

Slowly, weary, and yet mildly amazed, Aeris opened her palm, feeling a glassy clink as something fell from her hand to the stone just below it. Like her ancestors had, long before her, she had drawn on her affinity to the Lifestream, creating a fusion of her dreams and the Planet's will.

Reaching down, Aeris lifted a shiny, brand new piece of constructed materia.

She felt proud. It was something she'd made herself: the Planet made its own brilliant gems, but the Ancients had formed some of their own, unique treasures, like the terror of the Black Materia they'd made from their temple, and its counterpart, the White Materia she'd carried with her for so long.

The one she held now was not like those single-shaded jewels. Her materia appeared to be full of the stars. In the centre was a pale green sparkle, surrounded by arcs of white and gold. The shade of the diamond like exterior was a deep blue. Almost black, though it carried none of the fear the Black Materia inspired.

"What do you do?" she murmured into the orb, watching it fog up slightly under her breath.

Before any miraculous answer could sound, there was a rush of icy wind around her. It felt almost ghostly. Aeris looked around, surprised and more than a little annoyed to see Mah'habara dissolve into green winds.

"Glad to see you" a man's voice spoke.

Aeris turned, to see a man with a thin, brownish beard composed of a few hairs, and slightly spiky maroon hair on top of his head. He wore bulky armour, decorated by a few coloured capes and ribbons.

"Ever-present man?" Aeris tilted her head, sighing.

"Do not look so disappointed. I come bearing a gift, an apology to Vanille in truth but Minwu chased me away from that world, and so I am here" the ever-present man lifted a helmet from beneath his arm.

"Do I really have to know the entire thing?" Aeris asked, kind of amused.

"My apologies. Anyway, I am a judge, at least in the world this originates from. I have a helmet, a Judge's helmet, prized in the world I and it hail from"

"Why?" Aeris frowned.

"Judges enforce the laws, and the helmet allows us to transport ourselves wherever we wish. That's the condensed version, I can't stay long, but my point is, this is my gift. You can go anywhere you want with it, one trip only I'm afraid as I'm about to leave this world, and the helmet won't exist once I go"

"Why are you doing this? You never seemed that concerned with helping before" Aeris looked oddly at the ever-present judge.

"An apology. I lost control talking to Vanille, she's mostly unharmed, but this judge form has to have a sense of justice. This is my justice" he shrugged, giving the horned helmet to Aeris.

"I-" the Cetra began.

"Please, just use it if you can. I have to go, Minwu's following me" he looked around, as if the mage was about to pop into the Lifestream.

The ever-present man snapped his fingers and, much quicker than normal, Aeris found herself lying back in Mah'habara, out of the Lifestream, clutching the helmet.

She pulled it over her head, wishing she had time to tell Lightning, Snow etc where she was going. But now she just didn't have the luxury. It seemed she was always leaving with no farewell.

Her created materia was in her red jacket pocket. The Amok's words were running through her head-be careful of the _Shera _and whatever the 'Many-Faced One' was. And she had only one destination, one last hope.

She closed her eyes and whispered. "Cocoon".

X

There was a furry face staring at her. Vanille opened her eyes, tired, feeling slightly weak from the slightly dulled, but still perpetual ache of her Stigma. This was new. There was no rumble of engines, so she couldn't be on the _Shera_, and yet this didn't look like any cave. So she was on land, she was on solid ground. Well, it was a good start.

But where? And why was there a cat staring at her?

She opened her eyes further, still staying still, she'd have appeared asleep if her eye weren't open. The creature was fairly big, like one of those Gran Pulsian hounds, but it seemed somehow kinder, fiery red fur, There were a few, almost feather like, spikes of darker red hair in a streak going back along its head, starting between pointed ears.

Vanille smiled practically drunkenly, feeling woozy, reaching up and stroking the fur at the side of the cat-thing's head. It lifted its head, tilting it to the side and practically purring.

"You're awake then?" a rich voice commented.

Vanille stopped stroking the pretty big red cat, looking around the room. It was wooden, decorated with little except science equipment.

"Who's there?" Vanille sat up as the cat jumped to the side. Its head was level with the bed she was laying on. "How did I get here?" she asked.

"Vincent brought you" the rich voice said again. Vanille looked around, trying to see the source of the voice. No one. She sighed.

"Who do you think is talking kitty?" she scratched the cat's neck, wondering if she was hallucinating or something.

"I would thank you not to call me 'kitty'" the rich voice spoke as the cat purred.

Vanille took her hand back, half in fright, surprised.

"You can talk?" she gasped, almost garbling the words.

"Of course" the cat jumped onto a chair, "My name is Nanaki, though most people call me Red"

The feline creature took a smooth, graceful leap off the chair, tail lit up by a strange fire on the tip, as it nimbly slipped around the door.

Vanille sat up, taking out the crystal that was supposed to help her Stigma. It should give her a few hours protection, even if it was getting weaker.

Vanille froze suddenly: Nanaki! That was what the blue guy in the Lifestream had said…what was his name? Oh! Bugenhagen!

Vanille brushed the crystal down her shins, tentatively putting pressure on her legs as she got up. Wincing a little, she dabbed at her thighs and stomach, soothing the majority of the Stigma.

She'd have to find a better treatment sometime, if that was even possible.

Now where was that cat?

Vanille opened the door, stopping herself exiting the room as she looked down at a ladder. Ok, so this room was in some kind of tower. That was odd, but then again so was changing worlds with the aid of a split-personality ever-present person.

Again, just to be cautious, Vanille dabbed the crystal on her already darkening shins. The crystal barely provided a minute's relief now.

She grabbed the rungs of the ladder, clambering down, before collapsing on a purple sofa, GeoStigma feeling like a tender bruise. She clenched her teeth, closing her eyes, feeling a few pulses of pain, and the familiar hallucinations of veined darkness the infection caused.

"You appear to have a most advanced case of the Stigma" Red, the feline creature, growled.

"I'm a Pulsian" Vanille murmured through gritted teeth, "It's worse for us"

"So I see" Red paused for a moment. "Do you have anything with materia slots?"

"Huh?" Vanille still managed to sound questioning even with the constant ache.

"No, then. One of mine may do" Vanille felt Red used surprisingly dexterous fingers/claws to lift up a little of her hair, and she felt a clasp of some sort, a hair clip most probably, be fastened onto the side of her head. She felt the weight of the comb, slightly uncomfortable, but then a warmth spread out from it. She opened her eyes to see Red step back, after putting a purple/green sphere into the clasp. The pleasant feeling emanated from the clasp, spreading over her whole body and gradually dulling the pain of the Stigma.

"Thanks" Vanille smiled, eyes wide, as she managed to move a little.

"Thank Vincent, not me. He used old SOLDIER techniques to fuse a crystal with Heal materia. It appears to ease the symptoms of your Stigma" Red's throaty voice announced.

Vanille lifted a hand, touching the weight of the hair clip on the side of her head.

"That is one of mine" Red explained, "It holds the materia. Do not take it off, else your Stigma shall return. I do not know how long the effects of it will last."

Feeling off balance from the sudden 'cure', Vanille swung her legs over the side of the cushioned sofa, stroking the spikes of darker fur on Red's head.

"Thanks Red" she bounced to her feet.

"Please, call me Nanaki" the feline spoke, lowering its bright tipped tail.

"Oh!" Vanille gasped, "I was in the Lifestream a while ago. A man called Bugenhagen told me to say, he's proud of you"

A ripple passed through the cat's fur. "Grandfather" Nanaki purred, voice so much like a purr it was hard to be sure he had even said that.

"Hey, Red" Yuffie's voice drifted through the room, and the ninja fell from the ceiling. Vanille did a double take; the ceiling was pretty smooth. How had she been hiding? Ok, that was impressive.

"Yuffie" Red looked around, growling a little

"Why'd ya call us here?" Yuffie crouched in front of Nanaki, patting him on the head.

"Must you do that?" Nanaki slunk beneath her outstretched arm and took a small leap over to a metal door in the wall. "I called you here because of grandfather's machine. A bald man in a yellow suit with a tattoo over the side of his head gave me a simulation to programme into grandfather's machine. He called himself the ever-present man. That was last week. I have completed the simulation now, so I did what he said and must show it to you"

"Ever-present man?" Yuffie muttered, annoyed, remembering the frankly disastrous event on the _Shera_. The ninja scowled slightly, turned, faced the exit of the room and, with her arm at her side, lifted her lower arm up, quickly, repeatedly, in a strange way, producing a slight scratching noise.

"That's for wherever you are" she turned around again, satisfied.

"What was that?" Vanille asked Nanaki quietly

"She always does it" the red feline replied, "No one knows why."

Nanaki bounded over to the metal door, grabbing the doorknob with a paw.

"As I said, you were called here to see this simulation, named by the ever-present man as Gran Pulse. Grandfather's machine only holds four, and as Vanille is apparently a necessary viewer, and as I am controller, then there can only be two others"

"I'm going!" Yuffie squeaked, jumping up and down slightly, before darting across the room to the door, and slipping through.

"The others are outside" the growling voice of Nanaki said. "I'll ask them"

"No need" a new voice spoke, "I have a few interests in Gran Pulse" Vincent Valentine strode into the room, quickly glancing at Vanille. A small thrill ran through her: was he talking about her? Or was he just seeing if that materia remedy he'd cooked up was working? She wished she knew.

The three, a Gran Pulsian, a four legged feline, and a red eyed part-human walked through the metal door, to the machine that used to belong to Bugenhagen, Nanaki's grandfather.

"Come on! I want to see the lights!" Yuffie jumped up and down impatiently on a circular part of the floor. With a sigh, Red leapt smoothly over to her. Vincent and Vanille also got onto the circular portion of the floor.

Red poked a part of the machine with his paw a few times. The lights dimmed, and the circle of floor rose, entering an eerie, dark, domed room.

There was a green sphere in the centre, with a bronze orb orbiting. Gran Pulse. Vanille watched the image, transfixed by the depiction of her home. Would she ever get back there? She didn't know what to think.

Gran Pulse flashed slightly, a tiny human like figure bathed in shining orange circled the planet, the simulation shooting around, near Vanille's face, past Vincent's, and over Yuffie's, until it neared the bronze orb of Cocoon. The orange figure shot at high speed into the base of the orb, moving up at lightning speed, fire streaking out of its wake. As the orange figure, presumably Ragnarok, cracked the shell of Cocoon, white mist started to gather, a pale fog formed from tiny sparkles. The mist emanated from Gran Pulse, flowing out, pouring out, but every light composing the mist was drawn to Ragnarok.

The orange figure seemed almost gleeful, recoiling, as if to strike the flaming Cocoon again. It shot again to the sphere, widening the crack, as the white mist flooded into it. As the light started to dim, Ragnarok moved at a speed faster than ever before at Cocoon, contacting it in a flash of light.

The simulation was replaced now by a long black sphere. A tree grew, incredibly out of scale, on the top of the orb. As the tree started to fall, yellow light ran out from it, moving into the black sphere.

"Spirit energy, the Lifestream, the cycle within each world" Nanaki narrated. "As grandfather used to say, whenever anything dies, its Lifestream will return to the Planet and will, eventually, be reborn as something new."

The machine illustrated Nanaki's words. Two trees sprung up on opposite ends of the world. They each fell, one emitting a pale red stream of sparks, while the other released a blue current. Each chain of light moved into the centre of the sphere, moving into a ball of white mist.

"That is the consciousness of the Planet" Red explained, "It regulates the flow of the Lifestream. Cetra are born with a sliver of this in them, which is how they can sense who returns to the Planet. It is this which controls the balance of life and death."

The red lights moved into the white sphere, staying in it for a few seconds before a few twinkles were released. There were visibly less escaping the centre. The blue light did the same, less than half of the entering energy escaping the regulating sphere.

"The Planet needs this to make sure the circle of Lifestream continues. In this simulation I was told to make, it seems that the world, Gran Pulse, lacks much of this central element. It would also seem that the figure in the previous scenario is to blame for this" Nanaki finished. The graphics of Gran Pulse faded, leaving them in a backdrop of stars.

"Is that it?" Yuffie pouted, "Barret made it sound cool!"

"It is the fate of a Planet" Nanaki growled, "It is not meant to be entertaining."

Vanille wasn't listening. She could remember what Jei had said: it wasn't her fault. Now she knew why. Ragnarok was the cause of this; Ragnarok had stolen the life from Gran Pulse, and had somehow travelled through to this world.

But wait! Vanille frowned; she had become Ragnarok in this world. Was the same happening here? Oh no…if she had… She shivered.

"Kitty?" Vanille called, catching Red's attention, "Does this show your world as it is now?"

"Of course" Nanaki nodded, "That is its primary purpose" he pulled a lever down.

The image now showing was of a planetary system, with the central point being a faintly glimmering orb.

"Everything seems normal" Red surmised, reading a display, "Lifestream levels are normal, and nothing seems off" he growled.

Vanille breathed a sigh of relief. But if her transformation into Ragnarok hadn't stolen the Planet's core-Lifestream-thing, how had Fang's? Was there some other factor?

"What's that?" Vincent spoke in a deep, slightly hoarse voice, pointing one gloved hand at part of the world simulation.

"It appears to be the Forgotten City" Red paced around the hologram.

"Boring!" Yuffie stated, somersaulting backwards, off the platform.

sighing a little, Red leant closer to where Vincent was pointing, and let out a breath of shock.

"A lot of Lifestream has gathered" he announced. "More than there should be."

"There were Gran Pulse creatures moving towards there" Vincent observed

"Perhaps they're attracted to Mako" Nanaki murmured.

Vanille leant close to the other side of the simulation, peering at it. There was a mountain range, near what appeared to be a huge swathe of land dominated by desert. However, it was the mountains she was watching. Green light was emanating from one point, spreading straight up into the air.

"What's happening here?" Vanille peered up, pointing to the shining area.

"That's Corel" Nanaki purred, "It's-" Red growled a little, as if cursing.

"Something's jump started the Mako reactor" Vincent murmured.

A few seconds passed, before Vanille remembered the blue orb she'd found in the crystal cave: the one that had shown her Fang. She took out the orb again, seeing a view of a ruined town, mostly made out of beige, faded tents and crumbling, simple buildings. There was a crashed train along a spiralling track. At the other end of the track was a sheer wall of Lifestream, shooting out of the ground, swirling as it travelled into Fang. The Gran Pulsian was standing on the dusty ground, eyes closed, with the energy pouring into her.

Fang's form seemed to shine, an aura of orange flames enveloping her, seeming to be almost part of her.

Wait! Vanille paused, remembering the simulation the ever-present man had told Nanaki to put into this machine. There had to be some purpose: and if she remembered, the orange figure that resembled Ragnarok, and had cracked Cocoon, had also taken the white life light from Gran Pulse. And Ragnarok had been formed from Fang.

If Lucrecia and herself had moved worlds to this one, was it too much of a stretch that Fang had also? Was that why she was here: to find this Fang/Ragnarok? After all, if Ragnarok had damaged the life force of Gran Pulse, wouldn't it do the same here? From what she'd heard of these 'Mako Reactors', they hurt the Planet. Just like Ragnarok. So, maybe this ersatz Fang was powering them. No, not Fang, Ragnarok.

"Hey, Vince!" Yuffie jumped back onto the machine platform, "You need a phone. Cid's calling, says they just met Reno. The Turks have gone to Nibelheim, apparently the reactor there restarted and went critical, we should've destroyed them when we had the chance. Said we should go to Corel, the reactor there's started ups" Yuffie panted slightly, before running a short distance and peering at the planet simulation.

"You already knew, huh?" she sighed, "Well, hurry up. Cid's waiting to take off!"

Vanille slipped the orb back into her pouch, marvelling at how easy it was with her Stigma countered by the materia. Her hand brushed the hair clip, feeling it become warm to the touch.

"Hey!" Yuffie spoke up as Red lowered the platform, "Red, why'd you give her materia? I want some!"

"She needs it" Red rolled his eyes

"_I _need materia!" Yuffie pouted, jumping of the platform and practically spinning out the door.

Vanille closed her eyes, sighing, as she, Vincent and Red left the machine's room. Next stop: to see whatever the Fang creature was, in Corel.


	11. EverPresent

**A few revelations, a couple more characters, a few cliffhangers and twists, mystery, and SquareEnix/SquareSoft promoted to godhood.  
Not really a major chapter then.  
Enjoy Chapter 11! We're nearing the end of the story, but I'm sorry to say it could be a long time until the last chapter. All depends on how my schedule plays out, but I'm due to go on holiday in a week, when I won't be able to update.  
Only two or so more chapters left. Maybe more, maybe less.  
If you're wondering about the setting towards the end, it comes from the underrated Final Fantasy II.  
**

Aeris looked around, marvelling at the height and architecture of the impressive buildings. The streets were bigger and wider than anything she'd seen in Midgar: they seemed a slightly brighter shade of grey, and in much better condition. She could see what looked like a sky, though it just didn't hold the kind of fear a true sky had. Awe-inspiring golden arches crossed over from the dizzyingly high tops of the buildings.

Trying desperately to hold onto something familiar, she looked down at the materia she'd created. It was a whole sea of stars in one glassy ball.

"You must be Aeris" a fairly friendly voice spoke behind her. She turned.

"More people know me than I know them" Aeris complained light-heartedly, turning to see a man in grey. His face and shoulders were covered in a grey hood/drape, with a lone line cut in to peer out of. He was wearing white gloves and a gothic looking strap of metal around his wrist. A series of belts and straps were wrapped around his centre, around skirt-like plain white cloth. Two white boots were visible beneath the robe. His face was concealed behind the grey cloth.

"Forgive the hood" he bowed his head seemingly apologetically, "Mine is a well known face. This accessory is common in the East, so it serves as an effective disguise"

"Who are you?" Aeris tilted her head.

"I'll tell you later. For now you must come with me: I am taking a great risk in being here. I will answer your questions when we are in a less" he looked around at the crowd, "public setting" he concluded.

"I've got a lot of questions" she warned, only half joking

"I don't doubt it. But first, could you put the materia away? It is not widely recognized here, people may mistake it for a l'Cie crystal"

Aeris slipped the sphere into a pocket, a few seconds after yet again trying to tap into it. For some reason she couldn't achieve much with it: it was like Holy in that respect. Which was odd, because it was nothing like any of those materia. It wasn't like any materia she'd seen actually: it wasn't even a constant colour. There was just one parallel, niggling at the back of her mind, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

She followed the mystery caped figure through winding streets, across roads that got gradually thinner each alley he turned into. It was a few minutes until they were out of the crowd, but he continued on, cautious.

He knew about materia, and he knew who she was. That was enough for Aeris: she just wondered who he was. The ever-present man? Another Minwu like friend? Or someone else from her world?

After what felt like hours, the caped man sidestepped into a dreary building in the slums of the impressive city. The walls were a dull bronze, and it was illuminated by 'natural' light through a crack in the wall.

"At last" he murmured, seemingly relieved. He pulled the grey drape over his head, taking it off to reveal black hair and a strange shoulder plate, outlined in a blue light and with a tall spike coming out from the centre.

"Ask" he spoke to Aeris, revelling in being able to breath in fresh air.

"How do you know me?" Aeris quickly said

"Because I do. Next"

"That's not-" Aeris stopped as the black haired man raised his eyebrows, intimidating rather than threatening. "Fine" she pouted a little, "Who are you?"

"An interesting question. Well, firstly" the man stuck out his arm, touching Aeris' chin. Then, like an icy breath, his fingers moved through her flesh, leaving no trace, barely feeling as if they were solid.

"I am not fully here" the man admitted, "I was told to help you. My wishes are not my own any more. My physical form is encased in crystal elsewhere, but through the aid of one you know I have been able to create this manifestation for a short time"

"What should I call you?"

"An easy enough answer. My name's Raines"

"Raines…" Aeris mused, "Everyone seems to like storms" she closed her eyes, in almost contemplation of the oddity. She knew a Cloud, then here there was Snow, Lightning, and now Raines.

Shaking it off, she thought of a new question.

"What am I doing here?"

"In this world?" he seemed surprised, "I've been told you should know by now. You have to reawaken Pulse. Ragnarok exists only to destroy life, to harm worlds. It should have been focused on Cocoon, but somehow it turned on Pulse for a few seconds and by some extreme power took the consciousness of the world. As a Cetra, I understand you should have the ability to speak to the world, but here you cannot"

Aeris nodded, slightly surprised by the depth of this Raines' knowledge.

"That aspect of knowledge which allows it to communicate through some stream-"

"Lifestream" Aeris cut in, wondering why the man seemed to be an expert in some areas, but knew little in others.

"Lifestream" Raines mused, "That was what I was told. The stream sensitive part of the world was taken away by Ragnarok, to your world. That loss is killing Pulse, and by extension Cocoon. My master is happy to let it run its course, but I have enough will to do what I must to stop him"

"Your master?"

"A fal'Cie with many heads. Primarch, for now, of Cocoon" Raines replied.

Aeris paused for a moment: a fal'Cie with many heads. She just about knew what a fal'Cie was. But something with many heads? It had to also have many faces. The Many-Faced One the Amok had mentioned? Her eyes widened. It seemed possible. Well, in any case, she'd be weary of that fal'Cie, just in case.

"How do you know what materia is?"

"Because I do" was the unhelpful reply, again. "I was told" Raines swept the grey cape he wore backwards

"By who?" Aeris tilted her head

"There is a man in every world. Every one of his bodies does not know it is one of the many. They are all completely different, no link at all, except for one small thing. They only become aware of the other worlds when they sleep and dream of your Lifestream, but that is not the key" Raines gestured with his gloved hands, trying to make the point.

"Are you talking about the ever-present man?" Aeris frowned

"Yes. It was he who allowed me to create this ghost, and it was he who told me of you" Raines frowned for a moment at something else. He looked up, gesturing with a white glove for Aeris to stay still.

A moment or so passed, Raines muttering under his breath.

Without warning, his neck snapped back into place, staring at Aeris. She flinched a little at the new coldness in his eyes.

"I have to do something" he seemed almost reluctant, "Again it is something I have no desire to do, and yet it appears to be my only choice."

Without warning, Raines took out a blade from within his bulky cloak and thrust it at Aeris, the almost invisibly thin edge piercing through her skin, nicking two ribs as it past towards, into, and out of her heart.

Serene as before, Aeris fell to her knees, green eyes staring up at Raines with an expression of sadness and betrayal in her eyes.

"Forgive me" he bowed his head.

Aeris was surprised to see a lone tear on his cheek, but she was unable to keep her gaze on Raines' face for any longer. With a last breath, she fell forwards, eyes closing as she fell to the floor.

X

"Damn ShinRa" Barret cursed, firing his gun arm up at the figure in the sky as it shot passed the Corel reactor

"It's not ShinRa this time" Tifa corrected, sprinting along the railroad towards the reactor.

"They made the things. Shoulda destroyed `em when we had the chance" Barret muttered, steadying his aim with his other arm.

"'Ain't not getting offa this train we're on' didn't you say?" Cloud said, almost amused, as they carried on moving across the railroad tracks.

"Shut it, Spiky."

Vanille chuckled at the bickering trio. Red had stayed at Cosmo Canyon, but when the _Shera _had reached Corel they'd been joined by an old friend who lived there. Now they were running across the railroad to get to the reactor, while Barret shot at the Fang lookalike.

Yuffie, Vincent and Cid were staying on the airship, in case they needed a quick getaway. Though Vanille was sure Yuffie was just searching the airship to look for materia, and Vincent was there to stop her. Cid never left the _Shera _much, in fact, now more than before, he seemed almost glued to the console.

"They never leave Corel alone" Barret muttered, shooting towards the flying figure.

"You're not hitting it" Tifa rolled her eyes as Barret's furious shots fell far, far short of the Fang figure in the sky.

Barret swore, lowering his arm to focus on running across the tracks. A few steps and jumps over gaps later, they were on rock. The lifeless stone ground seemed almost forbidding. Cloud helped Tifa, who in turn pulled Cloud up, onto a brick bridge holding up the train track. Vanille followed Barret up and around a small set of steps, before the four continued a few more steps along the tracks until they reached the Mako reactor.

Vanille stumbled slightly as she caught sight of the huge, imposing structure. Sheets of grey metal were held up by scaffolding, forming a tower, illuminated only by the waves of Lifestream pulsing out of it and into the Fang creature. A red logo was visible high up on the circular creation, but it was gradually peeling away, edges ashen as the Lifestream seared through it.

Vanille looked back down, away from the dizzying reactor. Barret had sprinted into the reactor, but Cloud and Tifa were standing outside it, waiting to see if the flying Fang would come into range of their sword/fists.

Vanille gasped as Barret popped out of the top of the reactor. The man with the gun-arm shot out, screaming in anger, from the high point atop the reactor. Almost animalistic, 'Fang's' gaze snapped away from the sky, locking eyes with Barret. With a grunt, she span around, staring to flee Corel.

As the creature turned, the Lifestream flow out of the ground began to ebb, the blinding green light dimming. Cloud, Tifa, Barret and Vanille all experienced a moment's relief, before focusing on the real problem: 'Fang' was escaping, and she seemed to be able to start up the reactors by merely being there.

The hum of engines suddenly began and reached a crescendo, as the _Shera _descended dangerously low. Vanille hopped on board, followed by Cloud and Tifa. Barret signalled for the airship to go, leaving him there.

The _Shera _shot through the air, darting towards 'Fang'. Everyone had gathered on the bridge, staring through the glass window. Cid kept a tight grip on the controls, Yuffie dangled from the ceiling, Vincent stood near the window staring over the world, Cloud sat near the back, Tifa sat beside him, and Vanille was sitting cross-legged in front of the glass. The clouds parted as the _Shera _glided through the sky. The streamlined, orange glowing Fang lookalike was seemingly miles ahead.

The Lifestream was now staying firmly in the ground: it seemed it could only be drawn when 'Fang' was near a Mako reactor.

Vanille tilted her head, frowning at the centre of the window. A large clear bit of plastic had been moulded into the crack she and Vincent had cause when they'd flown out of it as Ragnarok and Chaos. It seemed the engineers at Cosmo Canyon had cut out a square larger than the crack out of the window, and put a plastic tile into the gap. She just hoped it would hold.

"Costa Del Sol" Vincent knelt down next to Vanille, pointing at a city a fair distance away on the ground, just visible through the clouds.

Cid swore loudly, pulling an extra lever down and giving the _Shera_ a burst of speed.

"What is it now?" Yuffie fell down from the ceiling

"The thing's heading for Midgar" Cid sounded as if he was cursing. "We've got about an hour until it gets there"

"I can see why that would be bad" Cloud remarked from the back of the bridge

"What?" Yuffie turned to him, "What?" she turned around to face the window, "Will someone tell me what's going on?"

"It's taken power from Mako reactors" Vincent spoke slowly, "First at Nibelheim, not at Corel. Its presence restarts the reactors, violently taking Lifestream out from the ground. It has moved in a line from Nibelheim to Corel, and now its destination is Midgar: where there are eight reactors"

"Didn't they get shut down?" Tifa frowned

"It's not like ShinRa to not have a back-up plan. The other reactors were all shut down, and the Midgar ones were drained. But that doesn't seem to matter to this creature: perhaps it simply uses the weakened state of the Planet to draw out Mako. With one reactor it did much damage to Corel: but with eight, then most of the surrounding area will be obliterated"

"That includes Edge" Cid interjected. "One hour" he finished, swerving the airship to follow 'Fang'.

Vanille didn't know where or what Edge was, but it was evidently a city of some importance to everyone here.

"Dammit" Cid muttered, angry, from his console. He lifted up a spear from the side of his seat, preparing himself for whatever battles would come. "There's something we gotta do"

"Huh?" Vanille tilted her head, skipping closer.

Cid closed his eyes, angry at something. Then he looked straight at Vanille.

"I'll explain later" he said, knuckles going white as he gripped the spear.

Then, without a moment's warning, he thrust the spear forwards, moving straight through Vanille. She gasped as the tip pierced her skin, looking down, curious despite the situation at the large metal handle sticking into her heart.

Seemingly regretful, Cid moved his spear back, watching Vanille fall, unimpaired to her knees.

A gunshot rang out. Vanille turned to see Vincent, seeming to be literally aflame, with his weapon raised. She tried to make the last turn to look at Cid, but she was unable to complete the motion, and settled to lie on the floor of the _Shera_.

One hour from the destruction of Edge, aboard an airship controlled by a pilot who was quite possibly shot, Vanille closed her eyes, as if drifting off to sleep by the sound of the engines.

She didn't expect to wake up.

X

The grass was soft, that was her first thought, and it smelled fresh. Almost like a normal town. Apart from the stink of alcohol.

Aeris opened her eyes, laying just in front of a stone building with a sign just above the door. The brown wood had three letters of white paint roughly drawn on: pub.

She blinked. Raines had just killed her, and this wasn't exactly what she expected afterlife in the Lifestream to be like. After all, she'd been there once before.

"Come on in!" a rowdy voice called. She got to her feet, to see a muscular man with little hair, and a perpetually drunken grin, wearing purple and red. It was a man she knew.

Only slightly trusting, she walked into the pub, checking to make sure she still had the materia.

The man lead her to a bare table with three stools around by one wall of the dingy pub. On one stool, Vanille sat. Aeris took the one next to her, and on the other side of the table the familiar man sat.

"Sorry for the unwelcome means of travel" he gave a throaty chuckle, "You're in Machanon, town on the road to heaven. When travel's being scanned by Minwu, dying is the easiest way to get here."

"Ever-present man?" Vanille tilted her head.

"Not nearly so grand. I'm his incarnation in this world-the overall ever-present form is elsewhere, fleeing Minwu." He raised an empty glass mug. "Hey, waiter, one more beer!"

"I don't understand" Aeris frowned, watching as a waiter refilled the not-ever-present man's mug.

"Me neither" he hiccupped. "The real ever-present man killed you and manipulated the Lifestream just a little so you'd end up in this version of the afterlife. Here I, one of his bodies, can give you the full story. He's, or should that be I've, given up on the damn rules by now" he took a swig from the glass. "Let me tell you what is apparently my story"

The man's mug slammed onto the table as he began.

"An original form is/was apparently quite a pioneer in his world. I guess we all share that trait, if I say so myself. He invented the airship by means of a special stone, and when he was done with all he could in that world, he moved on. For the first and only time, he brought the four Crystals together, using their combined influence to summon opposing Fiends and create a large enough ripple in the cycle of the Lifestream for the then-gods of the Lifestream to take notice. They offered a reward for my work: and you know the rest. I chose to become aware of every one of my forms."

"So…what's this got to do with anything?" Vanille tilted her head.

"I need to be sure you're up to speed. I have a body in each world, with just one minor link. It lets me know what's going on, and I think you deserve to know. It starts in your world, Vanille, centuries ago. Fang became Ragnarok, the being who hates life. It took the consciousness of Gran Pulse by some fluke, and separated itself from its main body, as Fang was made to revert. That was the first time I really over-stepped the line"

"You!" Vanille gasped, amazed, "You made Fang become human again?"

"Of course. I wasn't going to let Cocoon die. But the Ragnarok element fled, transforming into the only available form: Fang. That's what I was told at least. Then it switched worlds, to yours, Aeris. The Cetra and the Lifestream gods, like good old Minwu, slowed it down, but as the Cetra died, the walls of Lifestream weakened. GeoStigma was the last straw: as the infection rate increased, the Lifestream became corrupted enough for Ragnarok, looking like Fang, to break into your world."

"If you don't mind me asking" Aeris said, "How can Gran Pulse's soul go from my world back to Gran Pulse?"

"Easy. They're connected by an invisible cord, they're one and the same after all. They can't influence each other directly, though on a subconscious level it's still trying to help you. It sent the Amok to talk to you after all. Anyway, Vanille just has to separate the consciousness of Gran Pulse from the cloying Ragnarok, and it should return. Then you, as a Cetra, should be able to speak to the world and reawaken the slumbering Pulse."

The man panted for a few moments, sipping his beer.

"That reminds me" he spoke again, slamming his drink so hard onto the table a few drops came splashing out of the mug, "Aeris, give Vanille the materia you made. It takes a l'Cie to use the damn thing, so stop trying"

"You know about the materia? What it does?" Aeris's eyes widened, taking the sphere out of a pocket

"Know about it? My dear, I'm not even fully ever-present right now, I was just told all about it, and I can feel the Lifestream warping around it. Give it to a l'Cie, they actually have a use for it"

"What does it do?" Vanille asked, hand outstretched as Aeris lifted the materia slowly

"Ask Vincent" was all the man said.

Aeris dropped the materia into Vanille's palm. The effect was more dramatic than she thought: a ripple of golden light emanated from where she touched the materia, and several white sparks jumped into the air. The wave of golden energy continued to flow around Vanille's hand, up her wrist and arm, covering her whole body in a matter of seconds. The wave dimmed a little, leaving a sheen of golden dust, before that too faded.

"What happened?" Vanille looked over herself, shaking as if more dust would fall off. Then she looked at her palm: there was no materia.

"You absorbed the materia" the ever-present man's body nodded, as if watching an experiment. "That's what I thought. It's meant for you, should give you an edge"

"But .if Raines killed me to bring me here" Aeris began, "How am I meant to get back?"

Vanille turned, frowning slightly at Aeris, before the man spoke.

"Simple. We'll just put you back there: you should know Aeris, you had already died, but my alter-ego took you out of the Lifestream and put you in Gran Pulse. I'll just do the same"

"Wait a second" Vanille murmured slowly, facing Aeris, "_Raines _killed you?"

"You've figured it out" the man sighed, "Too much to be put down to coincidence huh? I did say, one minor link. A joke of the gods perhaps, maybe Tetsuya, that's what the main me thinks"

"What is it?" Aeris tilted her head.

Before anyone could answer, someone new burst into the pub.

"Always with the ladies" the newcomer rolled his eyes, sighing, "There are more people in the village Cid, they look like they were part of the rebellion"

"Good" the ever-present man's body, now named as Cid, nodded. "Could you leave us for a moment?"

The informer looked from Cid, to Vanille, to Cid, to Aeris, and then to Vanille's clothing.

"Fine, but the rebels will be coming in here soon. Don't start anything" he put an emphasis on the last word before turning and leaving the pub.

"Cid?" Aeris gasped, hearing his name.

"Originally of the Lufaine, now in every world, yes that's me. The main ever-present me can only control his own bodies. Cid Highwind and Cid Raines, and me, just Cid. If you meet someone called Cid, that's the ever-present man, we're not too hard to find. Now things are about to get complicated, Minwu before he became a god is about to come into this pub. Believe me I was surprised when I was told he became a god. But I don't want him to see you, or he'll remember you being here when he is a god, and that'll negate the whole point of this meeting"

"But-" Vanille began.

"Forget it, ask someone else later. You have to go" Cid waved a hand, creating portals of Lifestream behind the two. He looked at his hand, somewhat amazed.

The Lifestream drew the two people into it. Aeris was taken back to Cocoon, with the need to return to Gran Pulse to find some way to talk to the Planet. While Vanille was taken back to the _Shera_, with less than an hour to save Midgar and Edge, all the while hoping that Vincent hadn't killed Cid.


	12. Life

**Enjoy the big revelation last chapter?  
Well, brace yourself, there's more to come  
**

Vanille opened her eyes, quickly sitting up, wincing a little as pain lanced through the quickly healing hole in her torso. She looked around, focusing on the pilot, Cid. He flicked a green materia out of his spear, and a shield like construct around him vanished.

"Saw that coming" he muttered.

"Don't hurt him" Vanille span around, trying to face everyone in the airship.

"What is this?" Vincent lowered his gun, "He just killed you"

"Not for long" Vanille bobbed, grinning, "You should be used to it. How long were you dead for?"

"It's not that simple" Vincent grunted, almost annoyed.

"It was this time" Vanille grinned, bouncing slightly.

"Only Yuffie should be that perky" Vincent rolled his eyes.

"I resent that!" Yuffie bent her lower arm upwards repeatedly in a bizarre action towards Vincent.

"What's actually going on?" Tifa asked

"We're shooting after that thing" Cid pointed out the window, "And to fill `er in, I sent her to a guide who was already dead. Now she's back, and hopefully a darn sight more helpful"

"Hey!" Vanille turned.

"We've got fifty minutes `til it reaches Edge" Cid retorted, "We gotta catch up and kill the damn thing. You wanna help? Now's the time" looking away from everyone now, Cid focused on the controls.

Vanille stared out through the mass of clouds: in the distance, the Fang/Ragnarok creature was shining orange, a flame high above the sea.

"How the hell is that thing so fast?" Cid cursed under his breath, yanking a lever down and, with a judder, accelerating the _Shera_.

Vanille looked at her hand, wiggling her fingers. She still felt slightly lightheaded from the materia she'd been given. What did it even do? Apparently it would help, but if she didn't know what it did, then what use was it?

"Vincent" she hopped up to him. Hadn't Aeris said to ask him?

"Yeah" he looked down, still being quiet.

"What materia looks like stars?"

"Stars? None, they're one constant colour: green, blue, yellow, purple or red"

"Not all!" Yuffie called, practically cart-wheeling across the bridge, "I _know _about materia. You've got the classics, always good, and some super models of each, plus the masters. Then ya got the unique ones, white and black for a start" she counted them off on her fingers.

"Should've known you'd know all about it" Vincent rolled his eyes

"It's _materia_!" Yuffie squealed, "Anyway Vince, you should learn about it. Didn't you say ya had a hunk of it in your chest?"

"Proto-materia" he corrected, "And unless you can think of any materia that can get us to that thing in forty five minutes then be quiet"

Yuffie sighed, slumping and turned away.

"You mentioned the proto-materia earlier" Vanille murmured, moving slightly closer to Vincent. "What's it like?"

"Is this really the best discussion?" he sighed, "I said, it lets me control Chaos. It…" he paused, eyes widening with a sharp intake of breath. "It looks like…like stars."

X

Aeris sat up, taking a few deep breaths before looking around. Raines, Cid Raines apparently, was sitting by a wall.

"Back then?" he muttered, getting up.

Aeris brushed her hair back, panting a little. It was very tiring, the constant switching of worlds. She'd changed worlds, planets, and been too and from an afterlife and the Lifestream all too often. She needed a break.

"There's a transgate back to Pulse" Raines informed her: "It leads to Mah'habara, where I believe you used to be. My master uses it. If I were you then I'd go to Oerba. It was where you entered this world; it must be closer to the Lifestream"

"Thanks" Aeris nodded slowly. She was pretty sure Fang had mentioned crystallization around there, but she'd find a way.

Now, just to get back to Lightning, Fang and the others. Easier said than done, but if this Cid was able to take her to that gate to the mines, then hopefully she'd manage it. Then back to Oerba it seemed, to reawaken Gran Pulse. That is, if Vanille could succeed.

"Where's the transgate?" Aeris tilted her head.

She was pretty annoyed, truth be told. All the work to get to Cocoon, and she had to return back to where she'd started.

"Not far" Cid Raines said, pulling the hood back on. He looked around at Vanille, just his eyes visible. Without waiting for a response, he strode out of the building. Aeris frantically followed, having to run a little to keep up with his brisk pace.

After a few minutes dodging through the crowd, Raines pulled Aeris into another building, and lead her down a gold and glass passage. He used a card of some sort to get through a gate, sealing it as soon as both of them walked through.

"I can help, for once" Cid mumbled, opening another metal door to reveal some kind of lilac, shimmering circle suspended in midair.

"What's that?" Aeris pointed to it

"A transgate. You don't have them in your world? It's not too complicated, just walk into it and you should end up in Mah'habara. It's meant to allow the Primarch" he almost spat the word out, "to get to Pulse when he needs to." Cid helped Aeris up, over a step until she was just in front of the transgate.

"You're a bit more solid than before" she commented, referencing his tight grip, "I couldn't even touch you before"

"Don't tell anyone" Raines stage-whispered, giving Aeris a slight push into the transgate.

The world passed in a purplish blur. She saw the insides of walls blend with the sky, and the ground all tinged with a slight purple as she span out of control-

-and took a calm step out of the other transgate. It was disorientating, but definitely easier than the Lifestream travel the other Cid kept subjecting her to.

She looked around; she was in Mah'habara, se could see the tunnels either side of the flower filled fissure she was in. Just, she hadn't managed to get this far into the mines before. That wasn't a great help.

"Hello?" she shouted, trying to figure out where the others were.

Silence. Oh well. Slightly worried about being alone on Gran Pulse, she turned to face one of the two tunnel mouths either side of her. The little area she was in was nice; filled with flowers, like her church. But it hurt being here. The flowers were dying, quicker than they should. They didn't have enough Lifestream in them: it was odd in the fact plant life was able to grow, but the flowers weren't lasting as long as they should. As a Cetra she could sense the Lifestream flowing and being hoarded by the unconscious Gran Pulse.

She shivered.

50/50 chance to find Lightning and the others. Well, maybe slightly less. Plus she had to be careful of the monsters. Well, she picked….that way.

Aeris ambled across the thin reprieve of grass and flowers, entering the dark, dreary depths of the mines. She walked slowly through the crags, illuminated only by luminescent tubes along the walls. She took a few steps deeper, all natural light soon being blocked out. She was glad she hadn't encountered any of the creatures yet: she'd moved a fair way into the mines, but still no Lightning. No anyone.

There was a flicker. Aeris looked around, seeing the lights extinguish almost spontaneously. She backed up against a wall in the blackness. What was out there? She didn't know.

How long had she been there? She wasn't sure, but it couldn't have been more than a minute. What could make the lights go out? Hadn't…hadn't it happened before? Aeris blinked. Of course!

She knew she had to find Lightning, Fang, Hope, Sazh, and Snow. Then to see Vanille, with any luck.

"Aeris" a man's voice caught her attention.

"Huh?" She turned around. The lights flickered back into life. A man in white ribbons and a robe stood there.

"Minwu?" she tilted her head, frowning.

"Ah, trying to sneak up on him" Minwu muttered, straightening his brooch

"On who?"

"The ever-present man. I tracked something travelling from my world to this one, thought it must be him."

"You mean Cid?"

"He told you?"

"Uh-huh" Aeris nodded. She stepped forwards, away from the wall, looking from side to side.

"Are you looking for anyone?"

"Yep, Lightning" Aeris replied, trying to remember which way she'd been going.

"In that case, I can help" Minwu nodded, "I've got a feeling Cid will try and contact you again sometime, so will you mind if I stay with you?"

"Please stay" Aeris smiled, "It gets lonely"

"Right. Do you mind following me? I know where they are"

"Really?" Aeris's eyes widened.

"Naturally" Minwu started walking down the tunnels, in the direction Aeris had just come from. It seemed she was always backtracking.

"Why are you going after Cid?" Aeris asked, trying to make conversation

"Because he's dangerous." Minwu responded, "There are many worlds, thirteen he connects to the most often, but many more. And no one's perfect. The trouble is, every form has the abilities of every other. One form is making weapons for a tyrannical regime, another made a tourist attraction out of a place that was once a destination for a pilgrimage. In this world, he has a dodgy allegiance. And in another he has been twisted, driven insane by power" Minwu took a deep breath, "The latter form seized control in the other world. It made Vanille become Ragnarok out of mere curiosity. I need to find his ever-present form and isolate certain worlds"

"I didn't know…" Aeris looked down, guilty though she wasn't sure why.

They passed through the gorge of flowers in silence, and weaved through the other part of the mines.

"We're almost there" Minwu informed her

"I can feel something" Aeris murmured, pace slowing. It was like walking towards an inferno; there was some immense heat in front of her

"Really?" Minwu slowed to match her pace, "I can't feel anything"

"It's there" Aeris said, "I can tell"

"Hm" Minwu made no coherent response.

Just as the heat was becoming unbearable, they turned a corner to see the familiar group peering around the walls. Hope called to the others: "Found her!"

"At last" Lightning muttered, turning to look at Aeris, "Another stranger. There just had to be" she rolled her eyes

"We've been looking for you" Snow strolled up to her

"Sorry" Aeris whispered, ashamed. She'd vanished without a warning in the night, why hadn't she thought about what they'd think? Well, she guessed, the world still felt dreamlike. It wasn't anything like what she was used to.

"We have to go to Oerba" she trilled, speaking up, "I found out" she recoiled slightly from whatever was emanating the immense heat that only she could feel. It came from just around the corner in the cave.

"I'm getting sick of this" Fang moved to the front of the group, "We don't even know you, and you think you can just order us around? Who put you in charge?" she glared at Aeris

"I'm sorry" Aeris stepped back, locking her hands and looking down, "I didn't mean to. I just…."

Fang's expression softened a little, seeing the guilt in Aeris's eyes.

"I'll try and get Vanille back" Aeris spoke up, not making eye contact, "Once I go, she should return"

"She'd better" Fang turned away, "Besides, we've got problems getting back to Oerba anyway"

"What?" Aeris looked up, confused

"I told you earlier. Have a look" Fang stepped back, pointing around the corner with her spear.

Aeris took a hesitant step forward, pushed away by the waves of heat. Minwu had no such problems; he strode hastily through the mines and, as he turned the corner, gasped softly.

Bracing herself, Aeris pushed forwards. She looked around the corner, feeling like she was steps away from a blazing fire. Side to side, roof to floor, there was a wall of crystal completely plugging the gap.

"It's been growing all the way from Oerba" Fang muttered, "I did say. It came from Vanille's crystal"

"That's not crystal" Minwu muttered, pressing himself to the 'crystal' barricade. He kept his ear against it, dragging his finger along the smooth surface.

"Huh?" Aeris tilted her head, almost falling from the immense heat

"It still shouldn't be growing" Minwu muttered to himself, "Unless…ah, Lifestream" he turned to Aeris, "That's what you're feeling, you're a Cetra. This is a huge siphon, taking what little Lifestream this Planet has, there's probably one in your world too, drawing all Lifestream towards it."

"Well what is it?" Fang demanded, striking and not even scratching it with her spear

"Use magic" Minwu replied

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Just do it"

Fang shrugged, creating a small fire on the tip of her finger. As she did so, the magic shot through the air, unbidden, straight into the 'crystal' and being absorbed. Fang glared at the crystal.

"I didn't do that" she muttered, slightly surprised

"Of course not" Minwu replied, "It's taking in magic, and Lifestream"

"What is it?" Aeris murmured

"Nethicite" Minwu murmured softly, brushing his hand across it as he stepped back

"Never heard of it" Fang muttered, dismissively

"You wouldn't have" Minwu replied, "It's not from this world. It's not from yours either Aeris. I want to know how it got here, but that's a question for another day"

"Can you get rid of it?" Lightning spoke up

"Easily" Minwu pressed his palm against the Nethicite.

"Head to Oerba" He turned around, "I'll be finding any other copies of this, in Aeris's world or in any others."

A pair of glowing orange, almost eyes, appeared in the Nethicite, on a shadowy frame. Then they blew away, like smoke in the wind, as the Nethicite receded, shooting back along the tunnel as Minwu pressed his hand to it.

"This is where I leave you" he replied, "Just get to Oerba. Aeris has to be there, to save Gran Pulse."

X

Less than half an hour until Ragnarok reached Edge. Even at their top speed, the _Shera _was going to be ten minutes or so late, and even if they could catch up with it, they had no way to stop it.

What did they know about it? Vanille sighed, slumping against the wall. She knew next to nothing about it, about what it did, she wasn't even completely sure how it got here. All she knew is that it sucked up Lifestream wherever it could.

Hang on.

It swallowed Lifestream. What if they could poison that? An idea was forming in her head. If they could give it corrupted Lifestream, it would be like giving a human poisoned water. And it should release the soul of Gran Pulse.

So it was lucky they had poisoned Lifestream.

Vanille flicked Red's hair clip as she bounced up, skipping over to the centre of the bridge.

"I've got it!" she announced, "It eats Lifestream, so if we get near it, we can give it dodgy Lifestream" the idea sounded more dramatic in her head

"There are two problems with that missy" Cid muttered, voice muffled by a cigarette, "How can we catch up, and where the hell are we gonna get 'dodgy Lifestream'"

"You can't expect me to do everything" Vanille giggled, "You catch up with it Mr Pilot. But the Lifestream's easy-peasy" she flicked her hairclip again.

"Of course" Vincent muttered

"How?" Tifa asked from the side of the bridge

"GeoStigma" Vincent spoke, "It's how the Planet reacts to unwanted intruders. If she gets near it and takes off the hairclip, the damaged Lifestream the Planet sends to her will be taken in by it."

"We still can't catch up with it" Tifa reminded them.

"You can't" Vincent muttered, stepping forwards, "I can"

"Chaos" Vanille squeaked. She still remembered her first encounter with the creature: it scared her.

Vincent put one hand on her shoulder, smiling softly.

"Ready?" he whispered

"Do I have to be?" Vanille tensed a little as she looked up into his pale face

"I don't know how easily we'll catch up with it. We need to leave soon" he sounded kind, almost comforting

"I…" Vanille looked away, unwilling to mention her fear of the 'demon'

Vincent lifted her face with two gloved fingers.

Without warning, he lightly kissed her forehead.

Vanille swayed slightly, feeling light-headed. His lips were cold, but not bad-cold, more refreshing-cold. Nice-cold.

"Do that again" she muttered, before blushing after realizing she'd spoken aloud.

Vincent smiled, bemused, before repeating the action.

Somewhere off to the side, Yuffie was jumping on the spot and shouting 'I knew it'.

"Ready?" Vincent asked, tenderly now

"Suppose so" Vanille grinned, playing around with the hair clip in one hand. GeoStigma came on fast now, she'd take it off when they were close.

"I won't let anything happen to you" Vincent smiled, bringing her closer in a tight embrace.

Then, in a split second, his skin seemed to ripple, and in a flash of red and black, they went spiralling out of the recently repaired window of the _Shera_.

Vanille pulled herself closer to Chaos/Vincent, feeling the air rush by her. She trusted Vincent, sure, she trusted him to not let go of her. But she didn't trust Chaos, she didn't trust the snarling, animalistic thing only barely under Vincent's control.

Her arms wrapped around Chaos, tighter. A few minutes had passed, and they still weren't that close to Ragnarok. They needed to go faster.

As if he'd read her thoughts, Chaos flapped his wings a few times, the sound of the leathery beating resounding. Chaos glided through the air, nearer and nearer to Ragnarok.

Carefully, Vanille bent her neck, peering through the mask like covering on Chaos's face, to see Ragnarok, looking like an insane Fang, propelled by unknown means. She was getting closer.

How long would the GeoStigma take to spread? If she took the clip off too late, it would reach the eight reactors in Midgar. If she took it off too early, she didn't want to think how the grip of Chaos on the agonizing Stigma would feel. She could already feel slight bruises coming on from the flight, not that she blamed Vincent.

Vincent… He had kissed her. A shiver ran through her at the memory.

Did he have a thing for Gran Pulsians?

Vanille shook off the thought, realizing the need to concentrate. How long had passed? She didn't know, but it could only be minutes until the destruction of Edge.

She grasped the hairclip firmly in one hand, staring ahead as they neared Ragnarok. On the ground far, far below (she felt dizzy looking down) there was a wreck of a black, bleak, circular city. Already, the nearest edge was starting to shine a soft green.

Too close. It was starting to draw out Lifestream.

She gripped Red's hairclip tighter, feeling the anti-GeoStigma materia within in warm in her palm. She was ready to pull, to expose herself to the Stigma and sour Ragnarok's feast of Lifestream.

"Not yet."

Vincent's soft, almost melodious tone sounded in her head. Instinctively knowing to trust him, she weakened her grasp on the hairclip.

"Almost"

She tightened her grip again, seeing a huge crack rip from one reactor to another below her. The drawing of Lifestream from just two, maybe three, reactors was already harming the ground.

"Now!"

Vincent's last cry came with a growl from Chaos. She yanked the hairclip off, and Chaos threw her into the air.

She savoured a brief few seconds of flight, before the dull ache spread, like water, over her body. The pain of the eyesore blotches was quite faint, probably because she wasn't touching anything.

She couldn't quite described the feeling that came next. It wasn't painful, but it wasn't entirely pleasant. It felt sort of like static, but instead of hair sticking up, some non-corporeal aspect of her skin was lifting, leaving her, until it rush into Ragnarok.

It hurt her to see Fang, even a creature only using her face, in pain. Which it most definitely was; Fang's back arched, one last, long scream as some kind of black Lifestream poured from Vanille's Stigma, into Ragnarok.

And then, just like that, it was over. The two women seemed to pause in midair for a moment. Until Fang pulsed orange, a blinding white light slowly leaving her flashing, writhing body. Was that…was that the soul of Gran Pulse? Vanille shook slightly at the thought.

She'd done it!

And, with that, Vanille fell, spiralling to the world far, far below.

X

Oerba, at last.

Aeris smiled softly, feeling some newfound vitality in the life around her. Even the weeds seemed to have new life.

Had Vanille done it?

There was only one way to know. Aeris knelt down, feeling the thrum of life from the centre of Oerba.

Closing her eyes, she started to pray.

Almost at once, a kindly, elderly female voice responded.

"My child, I thank you for rescuing me, but all is not yet done."

Aeris opened her eyes as the spirit of Gran Pulse began to explain.

As the Planet talked, flowers began to bloom, spreading out around Oerba.

X

Vanille opened her eyes to see a grey wall. Hastily, she felt her hair. No clip. She'd lost it? Not good. Quickly, she felt her pouch. Please say she hadn't lost the crystal too….

No!

She tapped her thigh gently, just to gauge how far the Stigma had progressed. Nothing, no pain, just a sudden spark.

No.

She lifted her fur skirt, seeing the unwelcome, and yet bliss-inducing black brand of a l'Cie.

She was back in Gran Pulse! Once she'd fallen and defeated Ragnarok, she must have been sent back!

Sadness washed through her. What about Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, even Cid?

What about Vincent? Could she ever see them?

Trying to hold back the tears, Vanille opened the door, to be greeted by a prospering, green Oerba.

"Vanille!" a familiar voice called, ecstatic

"Fang?" Vanille turned, stumbling back as the other Gran Pulsian embraced her. "I missed you"

"Don't you worry, I'm not letting you out of my sight again"

A moment of silence spread across Oerba. Aeris kneeled in the centre, shaking a little. It all made sense.

And now she'd been told what her materia, the materia she'd given Vanille, could do. And she would really need it.

"I really must congratulate you" the black haired figure of Cid Raines stepped out of the empty air, "I'm glad this is at last resolved. If you want, I can take you back to your correct worlds"

"No" Aeris shook her head, standing

"No?" Cid tilted his head, "Well, I could take you on a free tour. You might like a concert, even if the venue is stormy. But I have to say, Yuna is a great singer"

"We can't go back" Aeris looked down almost ashamed, "Not until everything is done. I'm not sure I even want to go back, and even if I did, I can't"

"You can, I'm here, I can manage it. Soon please, Minwu's distracted but he might find me soon"

"There's a problem" Aeris sighed. Vanille untangled herself from Fang, to try and listen to the Cetra.

"I met an Amok earlier" Aeris recounted, "It showed me the _Shera _as the cause of the split of Gran Pulse and its mind. It also told me to beware the Many-Faced One. Gran Pulse just explained it to me, she remembers what happened back then"

"It was Ragnarok" Cid half-shrugged

"That isn't related to the _Shera_. But I can think of one thing that is, that also has many faces"

"Go on" Cid frowned.

"The pilot" Aeris looked down, "He has a face in every world, and that's a lot"

"Wait" Cid Raines, the ever-present man, seemed calm, despite the situation, "I don't know what you mean, the pilot of the _Shera_ is-"

Vanille cut in.

"You."


	13. Hoping

**Ok, I went a little over the top in this chapter. Sorry.  
Key Final Fantasies: 7 and 13, obviously, with major roles from 2 and 12. The storylines in the latter two are basically explained, as much as you need to know, here as it is, so don't worry about those.  
We've reached the end of this story! I'm happy to say I finished it and 'Faces', my other fanfiction, before today, which is good going considering tomorrow I'm on holiday and won't be able to write for a while.  
This is the last multi-chapter fic I'll be publishing on here for a while.  
Now, play FFXIII! (And FFVII too, if you want).  
**

A smoky shadow seemed to form over Cid as Vanille spoke that word.

"I don't know what you mean" Cid spoke with a quiet outrage

"You're the pilot of the _Shera_" Vanille bounced up, "You've got a lot of faces, and it's easy for you to take away Gran Pulse's soul to another world. You went mad swapping us from world to Lifestream to wherever, and can easily stand just there with no Minwu in sight. It would be easy for you to fix it yourself"

"I told you why-" Cid stopped mid-sentence, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Our Cid wouldn't do that" Aeris murmured, "But he didn't know you were real."

"All my bodies are separate" Raines explained, "I told you, they know nothing of being ever-present. They only remember their own lives"

"Exactly" Vanille nodded hastily, "It's easy for you to do it, and forget it after. And I reckon I know which of you did it"

"You mean…" Cid paused. If one of his many bodies had split up Gran Pulse, and made him forget, everything would make sense. And he knew he wasn't perfect: that was what Vanille was getting at, she'd seen his darker side. He'd made her become Ragnarok, out of simple curiosity. To see if there were any differences, and how the transformation went.

"That one" Cid looked down, ashamed at that part of himself.

"Does he have something to do with Nethicite?" Aeris spoke up.

"Nethicite?" Cid's gaze snapped over to Aeris, "He was the expert on it. How do you even know about Nethicite?"

"Oerba was covered in it" a new voice joined the conversation, "As is the Forgotten City." Minwu stepped forwards, coming out of a swirl of Lifestream. "He was siphoning Lifestream with the Nethicite, taking the spirit energy of every person. He could create a person out of nothing, create anyone. They were in almost every world. I expelled them to the Void though, they are no longer anywhere"

"Good" Cid nodded, a slight red glow shining in the air above him for a brief second. "I won't let him control me any longer"

"It's not that simple" Minwu sighed

"Huh?" Cid's eyes shot up. An almost corporeal smoke cloud appeared behind him.

"Turn around" Minwu muttered

Cid span on the spot, staggering back as he saw, just in time, the smoke dissipating.

"Venat" he said the word like a curse.

"The life form blended with Doctor Cid" Minwu said, explaining it to everyone, "Doctor Cid was his form which transformed Vanille into Ragnarok. He created a kind of nethicite, which takes in Mist and Lifestream, with the aid of the creature tied to his mind: Venat. And it is that creature which is feeding off you, like a parasite, in every one of your forms whether you admit it or not, becoming that doctor and making you forget"

"But…I…" Cid fell to his knees, desperately ashamed. "I didn't know" the shadow, Venat, reared up behind him. Two orange eyes in a hazy body made up archaic looking vines and armour.

Venat fell, a graceful movement, sliding into Cid Raines' back. A silent, horrible, tense second passed as Aeris, Vanille and Minwu looked on in horror. The others were elsewhere.

A ripple passed through Cid. His grey cloak shrank, becoming closer fitting, and a deep red and maroon. His black hair shortened, turning to a pale brown.

The kneeling Cid Raines stood up, now a different man, quite literally. Doctor Cid, the reason for all the trouble they'd been through, stood there, smirking, eyes glowing a harsh, barely noticeable red.

"A pity you figured it out" he muttered, lifting one white-gloved hand. He clenched it into a fist.

"I took enough spirits with my siphons" he murmured, holding back an insane chuckle.

He opened his hand, and three seeds of Lifestream rose out of his palm, striking the ground. Three separate people grew out of each.

The first was a tall man, garbed in yellow armour over his front, with regal purple behind it. Lots of purplish drapes, some transparent, some not, were hung over the form, masking the lethal jagged edges of the armour over the elbows, the snarling golden lions over his knees, and the pointed feet. His face was pale, almost handsome, if not for his purple lips and gaze full of loathing.

"From the Lifestream in your world Minwu" the twisted Cid commented, watching the initial figure grow.

"Mateus!" Minwu cursed. Vanille looked strangely at him. "I gave my life to aid the rebellion against his rule over my world. He installed himself as emperor, dying and returning from hell itself in his quest to keep control"

Lightning, Fang, Hope, Sazh and Snow had noticed the bright lights and the shouts, and they soon joined the group, in time to see the second of the three seeds grow. It became a woman, with waist length grey/blonde hair. She wore tight fitting leather and bands of armour. Her shoulder plates had a blue neon outline, and over her waist she wore a baton.

"l'Cie" she almost spat the word out

"Jihl!" Vanille stepped back, putting her hands over her mouth. Jihl Nabaat was the PSICOM officer who'd caught up with her and Sazh at Nautilus. She didn't seem to care what happened to the people around her: she used them like tools. How ironic, that the Primarch Barthendelus had killed her, disposing of her like a tool.

"She comes from this world, just for you" Doctor Cid looked down at the last seed, lips pursed. "Now he needs no introduction."

The third seed grew quickly. It was a man, garbed in black leather, boots going most of the way up his legs with only a few silver buckles keeping them on. His cloak was also made of black leather, flowing behind his imposing figure. His chest was bare, except for an X of black and the cloak either side. Each shoulder had a three piece silver plate on. Each hand was covered in a black glove, with a silver bracelet attaching it to the long sleeves of his cloak. In one hand, he held the gold and blue handle of a long, long sword. He looked up, peering through silver locks that extended past his neck, staring straight at Aeris.

"It's been a while" he spoke, melodic, deep voice sounding more like a threat.

A lone, black, feathered wing rose into sight, lifting from behind his back.

"Sephiroth" Aeris murmured, stepping back. Fear was blossoming in her heart: she had already died by his hand. Scars like that never fade.

"I take my leave" Doctor Cid gave a sinister smirk, moving back. A soft glow bathed his lower half, and he started to rise off the ground. Taking one last look at Sephiroth. Emperor Mateus and Jihl Nabaat, he turned, to soar away.

"Vanille!" Minwu shouted, a blazing white light coming from his hands, offering protection against Mateus as the Emperor tried to attack.

"What?" she tilted her head, grinning despite having to jump mover a sword slash from Sephiroth

"Your materia! I can feel you have it, proto-materia forged in Gran Pulse. Use it!" Minwu let a stream of fiery light

"I don't know how" Vanille murmured, lifting her binding rod to deflect a blow from Sephiroth. He leapt back, flying, and swung his blade, swiftly bringing it through the air, straight for Aeris.

"No!" Vanille shrieked. She didn't know what came over her, she just knew Aeris shouldn't die twice by Sephiroth's hand. In a split second, she sprang across the flowering Oerba, bathed in a fiery light, until she crashed down, grasping the blade with both hands and slamming it to the ground.

The world seemed to stop in that brief second. Vanille felt like she was out of her own body, and in a sense she was. Her hands were not her own; her skin was thicker, the shade of tree bark, with streaks of yellow, orange and gold streaked across it. She looked almost as if she was glowing. Savage, untameable, stronger.

Ragnarok.

She could see her hands, she could remember every aspect of the transformation. She felt, somehow, in control on the beast. How was that even possible? She stumbled back, an ungainly movement for the creature.

"That's what it does" Minwu shouted across Oerba, "The materia. Control over creatures, created by the Planet and implanted in a human. For Vincent, it was Chaos, for you, Ragnarok" Minwu thrust both hands forwards, a red aura starting to cover his skin. "Now go, stop Doctor Cid! Only you, as Ragnarok, can stop him. If he escapes, there's no telling what else he could do" Minwu jumped back, starting a graceful twirling motion, before creating a maelstrom of light around Mateus.

Vanille looked around, seeing Lightning, Fang, Sazh, Hope and Snow engaged in some kind of deadly dance with Jihl Nabaat, who parried nearly all attacks with devastating grace, her baton moving faster than Vanille's eyes could comprehend.

Aeris seemed to be losing, as the soaring Sephiroth shot across the ground, slashing out with his blade. It was a miracle he hadn't been hit yet.

"I'll help Aeris!" Minwu shouted to Vanille. As he said those words, a loud thrumming reverberated around Oerba. In a flash of Lifestream green light, the _Shera _was pulled down from the sky, all the way from another world. With little more than a look at Aeris and Sephiroth, Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie and Cid were falling over each other to leap off the airship.

Minwu fell back as a blow from Mateus struck home. The lapse in concentration had cost him, he couldn't risk it again.

Satisfied that this was the best that was going to happen, Vanille took two steps along the ground, before tensing and leaping, soaring up into the air, revelling in the control of the devastating beauty that was Ragnarok.

There! In the distance! She could just see a speck of dark red, Doctor Cid. He'd pay. The rush of anger surged through her, images of what Ragnarok's powers could do flashing through her mind.

She shook it off, trying to focus on the present. But still, the voice was there, the little whisper of the true Ragnarok at the back of her mind.

"You can control it too?" a familiar, haunted voice murmured.

"Seems so" she shrugged, light hearted as always, turning over in the air to see Chaos flying along behind her.

"I can hear you?" she tilted her head, facing back at the creature and kicking her feet leisurely as if swimming.

"Seems so" he mimicked her. She giggled slightly, before giggling even more after realizing the destroyer, Ragnarok, was giggling like a schoolgirl. "Proto-materia, it does a lot."

A few more seconds passed, as they shot through the sky, seeing Doctor Cid in the distance. He was getting closer.

"So, monsters together?" Vincent asked, flying alongside Vanille now.

"Monsters together" she nodded, still laughing, happiness enhanced by the glimmer of humanity in Chaos's eyes.

She bent forward, giving Vincent a quick peck on the cheek, mirth being reborn at the ridiculous looking gesture of affection between the creatures they were.

The twisted ever-present man looked back for a moment, catching sight of them. He scowled, before being illuminated by a burst of green Lifestream. Vanille shot forwards, with Vincent, moving as quickly as they could to shoot through the Lifestream portal before it shut. For a few seconds, they were enveloped in the comforting, warm current, before they shot out into a dreary ruined metropolis.

Vincent accelerated past her for a moment, breaking through a rusted sign, as the two, orange at back, twirled into the clear sky over Midgar. The ever-present man hovered a few metres away. He started to run the instant he saw them.

"Why are we chasing this guy?" Vincent muttered, as Vanille started after Cid.

"He started it all" Vanille muttered, leaving Midgar. She was happy to put a distance between herself and Midgar: Ragnarok's instincts were still there, and it was like an unbearable thirst, trying not to take in the readily available Lifestream.

"By 'it all', you mean…"

"He took the soul of Gran Pulse and gave it to Ragnarok. He put that Ragnarok in your world, and he covered the Forgotten City in nethicite-it looks like crystal." Vanille recounted, pulling herself closer to Vincent as they soared through the air.

They shot over a sea, nearing Cid as he flew towards a snowy landmass. He fell closer to the ground, skimming over a forest. A few minutes behind, Vanille and Vincent, Ragnarok and Chaos, followed.

"The Forgotten Capital" Vincent identified the area.

"I know" Vanille nodded hastily, ducking beneath several of the Gran Pulsian creatures milling around. "Why are _they _all here?"

"They came out of the Lifestream. Perhaps the residue drew them towards the nethicite" Vincent muttered, the two almost reaching a valley into which the ever-present man had descended. "The question is" Vincent began, "Why are they still here?"

"To go home" Vanille answered after a moment, pointing towards a spike of Lifestream hovering in the air. Through it, she could just about see Gran Pulse, and several of the creatures were flying and stomping through it. "Must be Minwu"

Chaos dragged Vanille down, beneath the portal, as the twisted Doctor Cid ducked past it and into the Forgotten City.

"Where's he going?" Vincent murmured, "It's a dead end in there"

"I guess we'll see" Vanille shrugged, touching the ground and starting to run through the coral-like city. A soft orange blur was left behind as she, as Ragnarok, ran.

"He killed the fish" Vincent muttered dryly, as they followed Cid through a few fronds of seaweed.

Vanille looked at him oddly, before catching sight of an orange fish lying in the fronds of the green plant. Then she gasped as, past the plant, she was atop a staircase made out of pure crystal, each step supported seemingly in the air itself.

"Beautiful" she whispered, slowly walking down the stairs, step by step, moving towards a softly glowing island in the centre.

"It should be" Vincent muttered, morphing into his human form to keep balance on the steps.

"It _is_" Vanille insisted, watching the ever-present man jump from stone to stone at the bottom of the clear stairs.

"This is where Aeris died. I can't look at it the same way" Vincent reached the bottom of the crystal steps just after Vanille.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Vanille looked away, jumping across the stones to reach the ever-present man, standing on a circular altar. She tried to restrain Ragnarok's instinct to take in the abundant Lifestream.

"Don't be" Vincent murmured, standing beside her.

"Can you feel it?" Doctor Cid interrupted the exchange, spreading his arms out to his sides as the shadowy Venat appeared behind him. "The Lifestream. So, so rich here, gathering, rushing through the air. Such energy."

Vincent lifted his gun. It clicked.

"By all means, shoot" the twisted Cid in front of them laughed, "If you think that can do anything."

A ghost of a growl passed over Vincent's face, before he sheathed his gun, surprised at his sudden anger.

"Can you feel Omega?" Cid laughed, "This close to the heart of the Lifestream, the Weapon with control over Chaos has you in its grasp. I would say that's why you transformed. And it still has hold over you. And I'd say Ragnarok can't resist the succulent Mako around us for much more"

Vanille didn't want to admit how right he was: she could feel herself inhaling, absorbing, the Lifestream, even as her every thought was to try and prevent it. Doing the only thing she could, she focused on Vincent, trying to calm herself.

In a second of light, she fell to her knees, no longer as Ragnarok but as the Gran Pulsian Vanille. As she knelt there, panting on the ground, she could feel GeoStigma start to burn and spread.

"This is too perfect" Doctor Cid looked down at them, sneering. "At the mercy of the Planet she tried so hard to protect, and another unable to control his own body." He raised one gloved hand, plucking a piece of nethicite out of the air.

"So much Lifestream" he whispered, almost admiring. "Is it not perfection?" the insane incarnation of the ever-present man turned to the shadowy creature behind him. "The reigns of history in the hands of man, and man in our hands. For us, Venat."

Vanille gritted her teeth, falling to the stone floor, but resisting lightly with her hands to prevent too much pressure on her tender Stigma. Was this it? Was this where it would end?

"No" a voice murmured in her head. It wasn't her own.

"Huh?" she thought

"He is taking in Lifestream, his own Lifestream as much as the Planet's."

"So?"

"He has unlocked himself. Stand"

"I can't. Stigma" she winced even at thinking the word

"You can. This place is rich in Lifestream, we will guide you"

"Who…who are you?" she stuttered even at thinking it, as a soft, friendly white glow enveloped the infected parts of her body.

"I am Cid of the Lufaine. Each one of us is here: in him, and now, taken away by the nethicite. We are free"

The voice fell silent as she got to her feet.

"Move towards him" A new voice, reminiscent of the Cid she'd met in the afterlife pub, spoke. "We are all here"

She felt a hand on her shoulder as she moved forwards.

"I am Cid Haze. Go forth, touch him once. We will help"

She started taking another step.

"Go! I, Cid Pollendina, am here"

"Cid Previa, master of the crystals here. Go get him!"

"You have the blessing of Cid Del Norte Marquez"

"Ya know me, pilot of the Highwind. Get the guy!"

"Cid Kramer. Move!"

Vanille moved half the distance towards Doctor Cid in one step. Time seemed to have slowed: the voices spoke at a seemingly normal speed, and yet they'd all had the time to say something in the time it took her to make that one step.

"I, Regent Cid Fabool, encourage you. Keep going!"

"We haven't got all day!"

"Go"

"This is Raines. I'm sorry, I never seem to be able to control myself"

"High Commander Cid here. Hurry"

"Get him, for all our sakes"

"Go! I am Otto Cid. You must get to him"

"You must just touch him once. I, Count Cidolfus, can do the rest"

"It is I, the Judge. I wish I could help more, but it is in your hands"

"Don't let us down"

"You can do it Kupo!"

"I am _not _an onion, ok? Anyway, you can do it"

"Almost there!"

"We are trusting you. I am ashamed to also be a Doctor by the name of Sid with him also bearing the title"

"You've got him!"

As the voices of many Cids rushed through her head, she completed her last step and, as they had instructed, rested her petite hand on his clenched fist, as every Cid had instructed.

X

The furious duel with Cid, Tifa, Yuffie and Cloud on one side, and the devastating Sephiroth on the other, seemed to be reaching an end. Cloud let out a series of slashes with his huge blade, knocking Sephiroth's masamune away.

Jihl Nabaat soon fell, with the continued assault of five l'Cie.

Minwu nodded at each of their progress, as he stared into the eyes of his nemesis through a blaze of white magic.

"I gave my life to help bring about the end of your tyranny" Minwu spoke, letting the cloth covering his mouth fall, making his speech clearer. "And in death, I helped defeat you again. I will _not _stand by and let you continue"

"You assume too much" Emperor Mateus spoke in a nasal tone, exerting himself a great deal to deflect every spell of Minwu's, but trying to keep a façade of disinterest. "You presume to have a choice."

"There is always a choice. I died to aid the battle against you. Do you remember why?"

Mateus's eyes widened briefly, the only crack in his composure.

"The last magick created by the Ancients of our world."

"You wouldn't dare. Not even you, Minwu, could control such power" Mateus used magic to lift himself into the air a little. Not for any attack, only to look down on Minwu.

"For you, Emperor, I would do anything. For Firion!" Minwu took a step forwards, a golden light starting to blaze out from his fingertips. Mateus shrank back, angry at the fear he felt. The fiery colours of Minwu's spell roared into life, two currents of sheer energy above and below Mateus, with a helix of magick transferring from one to the other, the blazing energy crashing inwards, centring on one point. The Emperor Mateus.

"You have suffered three deaths" Minwu spoke through the blistering magical heat, "This will be your fourth. Unless you wish to suffer a fifth, do not return"

"Ah, Minwu. People like us never fade, not completely" Mateus closed his eyes, as the spell drew inwards, incinerating the body of the Emperor.

Minwu stood still for a moment. Soon, there was a gunshot as Sazh fired, striking Jihl Nabaat. The second of the summoned foes fell.

Last, but in no way least, Cloud slashed through the air, blade clanging onto Sephiroth's time and time again.

Minwu sighed, raising the drape he wore to cover his mouth again. Cloud wasn't strong enough to defeat Sephiroth alone, not yet at least. He waved one hand, summoning one spirit in particular from the Lifestream.

"I'll take that" a similarly muscled body to Cloud darted past from the Lifestream, snatching Cloud's blade and, in eight swipes along, broke past Sephiroth's defences and landed a blow on the one winged angel.

"Here ya go" the black haired newcomer tossed the sword back to Cloud, 2Keep it in good condition, you hear?"

"Zack!" Aeris cried, running up to him.

Minwu smiled secretly, turning away from the couple. Then he felt it: a surge in the energy around them. The Lifestream was opening.

In front of him, Doctor Cid fell onto the flowering land of Oerba, with Vanille clinging onto one arm.

"Betrayed by my own minds. Curse them!" he was snarling, like some kind of animal.

Minwu knelt down, quick and yet calm, resting two fingers on the ever-present man's forehead. A ripple passed through Cid's body, turning him from Doctor Cid to Cid Raines.

"What did you do?" Vanille got up, kneeling curiously, weary, and yet somehow still perky.

"Isolated that world" Minwu whispered, "He can't touch that world or that form on any level. The only way to keep Venat away" Minwu moved back, as the laying down Cid Raines opened his eyes.

Vincent fell through the Lifestream door, panting. He stopped as he saw Cid Raines lying there.

"I feel…odd" Cid murmured, sitting up slowly.

"I'm sorry" Minwu bowed his head, "It was necessary"

"What did you do?" Cid's eyes snapped onto Minwu

"I sealed off that version of Ivalice. You cannot connect with him, ever and at all."

"What?" Cid span around quickly, glaring at Minwu, "You can't do that! He's-he's part of me. I may not like him, buthe's there to stay."

"He's not. I just proved that"

"Why don't you just take Chaos out of Vincent too? Chaos is dangerous also" Cid spoke smoothly

"Chaos does not threaten the stability of the worlds. Dr Cid used you to take in Lifestream. He brought to life three people from it: Jihl Nabaat, Sephiroth, and Mateus"  
"M- I'm sorry Minwu. I didn't want to subject you to Mateus again. I didn't think he would be able to achieve that. And Jihl too? And…Sephiroth. I had no idea he'd become so powerful"

"Believe it!" Yuffie shouted. "And who's this black haired guy?"

"I'm Zack" the 'black haired guy' turned, still embracing Aeris, "I'm the original of Cloud here"

Cloud turned away, as if slightly embarrassed.

Cid Raines smiled at the ninja's leer. While she interrogated Zack about why he'd left them with Cloud, Raines turned, nodding and smiling to Cid Highwind. The ever-present man received a rude hand gesture in response.

"I guess...thank you, Minwu." The ever-present man murmured. "But it's more than just me who has a feud with you" Raines leant back, smiling a little before dissolving into a blur of white lights, leaving small rainbow trails as they dissipated.

"Watch it Cid" Minwu chuckled, watch the lights fly away, "Those things don't even belong in this world, oh, why bother?" Minwu laughed, standing up.

"What did he mean?" Vanille peered at Minwu, leaning forwards, "That he's not the only one with a feud with you?"

"Ah" Minwu slumped a little, good mood vanishing. "That." Minwu turned, calling out to the whole group. "Everyone!"

Hearing the authority in his tone, Cid (Highwind), Tifa, Zack, Cloud, Aeris, Vincent, Sazh, Snow, Hope, Fang, Lightning and Vanille moved into a huddle in front of Minwu, unconsciously separating themselves in the centre by world. Smiling a little, Aeris moved away from Zack, and dragged Cloud to the centre, where he stood next to the pink haired Lightning. Aeris took a few steps back, giggling a little. The two soldiers looked at each other, almost mirror images, saying 'hi' in the same instant. They frowned in unison, trying to speak again. "You-". After a few more moments, they both shrugged, and looked forwards towards Cid, reflections of each other, each a little flushed.

"I knew it" Vanille bounced happily to the front of the groups, next to Vincent.

"Can I speak?" Minwu seemed almost reluctant to, despite his request.

"What's happened?" Aeris asked, keeping an arm around Zack.

"It's not what has happened, it's what will happen. You each belong to a world, your own world. You are needed there: I've seen the future. It should be obvious to you Vanille, you should know what you're needed for. Aeris, Cloud. One week, that's all I can say to you. But you must return to your worlds"

"What?" Lightning was, surprisingly, the first to speak up.

"I'm not leaving Vincent" Vanille cried, clinging tightly to the red-wearing pale skinned man. He looked down at her, amused, and lightly kissed her hair.

"Calm down" Minwu paused, "If you enter crystal stasis, or when you die, as all things must, I may be able to pull a few strings. Manipulate the path of your spirits, if you will. We'll see which world you end up in" they could almost see a sly smile behind the drape Minwu wore across his face.

Without much warning, Lifestream rose out of the ground, taking the _Shera_, Cid, Tifa and Cloud with it.

"I figured you two might want time to say goodbye" Minwu nodded towards Vanille and Vincent, before looking away. There was a moment's silence. Vanille didn't know how to feel: for one thing, she was in her home, her home alive again, the beautiful plant life that used to be there, now resurrected by Aeris, and she was standing in the embrace of the 'tall, dark and handsome' Vincent Valentine. On the other hand she…she was saying goodbye.

"We'll meet again" Vincent murmured, bringing Vanille closer.

"But when?" she replied, sobbing into his cloak

"One week" Minwu spoke clearly, even though he was supposed to be looking away. "For Vincent at least"

"What about for me?" Vanille turned, pouting, "And aren't you supposed to e leaving us alone?"

"Sorry, I thought you'd want an answer. I won't tell you how long it will be for you, but for Vincent, I will bring you to his world, when I can, in one week"

With that, Minwu lifted his hands, and as he brought them down, Vincent and Vanille were transported to a swirling cocoon of Lifestream. "For a little privacy" Minwu's amused voice sounded.

Vincent and Vanille stood there, wrapped in each others arms for what seemed like an eternity.

"Monsters together" Vincent murmured, kissing her hair again

"You're no monster" Vanille shook her head quickly, peering up at Vincent.

"Don't start that again" he smiled a little, pale skin almost gleaming in the light of the Lifestream.

"Then stop saying it" she kissed his lips lightly.

"Oh Vanille" he sighed, bringing his lips down to hers in a passionate kiss.

"I wish I could see you again" Vincent whispered, voice muffled by her hair.

"You will" Vanille spoke between sobs, "In a week. I hope"

As she said those words, the Lifestream swirled around them. Vanille was deposited, kneeling, crying, on the fields of Oerba. She was alone, Vincent in his world. For the first time in Vincent's life, a lone tear was falling down his normally resolute pale face.

"You'll see each other again" Minwu murmured, looking over the group in Oerba. "And now Aeris is with Zack. In a week, you should al be happy" Minwu stepped back, as if to leave, before freezing.

"Wait" he touched the back of Vanille's neck and, as if performing some parlour trick, scooped a sphere out of her.

"What's that?" she tilted her head, looking up, trying to disguise her tears.

"The materia" Minwu said, juggling the star filled orb, "Aeris's. It doesn't belong in this world" almost imperceptibly, Vanille could've sworn he winked at her.

"Why a week?" she asked, hoping to distract herself with the questions.

"I suppose you can't tell him now. If you must know, in a week GeoStigma will be cured"

"That's good" Vanille nodded, before falling back down to the flowering field. Tears fell out of her eyes, moist drops onto the fresh new grass.

"There's a lesson to be learnt" Minwu knelt down next to her, resting a comforting hand on her back. "Never" he spoke, before vanishing into the Lifestream, "Never give up hope."


End file.
